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Presented    by  Vv'cS^^  \  CA e/Y-\-V   \  CA-V \(DX~\ 


BV  772  .S84  1903 
Stewart,  E.  B. 
The  tithe 


THE     TITHE 


REV.  E.  B.  STEWART 

Pastor 

Third    United    Presbyterian   Church 

Chicago,    III. 


INTRODUCTION    BT    LAYMAN 


THE  WINONA  PUBLISHING  CO. 
CHICAGO,    ILL.  WINONA    LAKE,    IND. 


COPYRIGHT,   1903 

BY 

THE   WINONA    PUBLISHING   CO. 


THE   TITHE 


PREI^ACE. 

There  has  been  no  attempt  in  this  brief  work  to 
record  every  mention  of  the  tithe  that  may  be 
found  in  ancient  writings.  Some  have  called  at- 
tention to  a  large  group  of  references  which  lie  in 
the  era  contemporaneous  with  the  history  of 
Israel.  Items  of  history,  for  example,  from  500 
to  800  B.  C.  are  interesting,  but  would  not  add 
materially  to  the  argument.  In  a  way  they  may 
help  to  solve  the  question  as  to  the  meaning  of 
terms  used  in  the  pre-Mosaic  period.  Many  pre- 
fer to  be  cautious  about  asserting  that  there  was 
a  religious  tithe  in  this  remote  period.  Mr.  Johns 
in  his  valuable  work,  "Assyrian  Deeds  and  Docu- 
ments" Vol.  Ill,  says,  for  example,  (pp.  347-349), 
that  to  translate  a  certain  word  "tithe"  as  some 
do  is  to  "assume  that  there  was  a  tithe."  He 
admits,  however,  that  this  view  "agrees  admi- 
rably with  that  universally  adopted  custom  among 
Semitic  peoples  of  paying  a  tithe  to  the  govern- 
ment." On  the  other  hand  Prof.  Sayce  positively 
asserts  that  there  is  a  word  which  should  be  trans- 
lated tithe.  The  cautious  ones  say  that  he  jumps 
at  conclusions.  Some  who  do  not  jump  stand 
ever  still  and  reach  no  conclusions.  Which  is  bet- 


pretace 


ter,  I  do  not  undertake  to  say.  It  has  been  the 
aim  of  this  work  to  take  a  broad  view  of  tribute, 
not  distinctly  as  paid  to  a  priest,  but  to  kings  as 
well.  Rulers  often  assumed  the  function  of  a 
priest  and  appropriated  the  revenue  to  themselves. 
While  the  meaning  of  terms  and  the  use  of  reve- 
nue may  be  in  a  somewhat  doubtful  state,  there 
seems  to  be  no  question  but  that  the  proportion 
of  the  tenth  prevailed  as  has  been  stated. 

Acknowledgment  is  gratefully  made  of  the  kind 
help  of  Dr.  R.  F.  Harper,  Prof,  of  Assyriology, 
and  Dr.  J.  H.  Breasted,  Professor  of  Egyptology 
in  the  University  of  Chicago,  for  valuable  direc- 
tion as  to  books  that  might  be  read  to  advantage. 
I  desire  to  express  my  appreciation  of  the  advice 
and  encouragement  of  Mr.  Thos.  Kane  and  other 
friends  who  have  urged  me  to  present  this  study 
to  the  public.  I  trust  it  may  increase  the  tribute 
to  the  King  of  glory,  the  Head  of  the  Church. 

E.  B.  STEWART. 
Chicago,  August,  1903. 


VI 


INTRODUCTION. 

WHAT  WE  OWE,  AND  WHY  WE  DON^T  PAY  IT. 

No  one  not  an  unreasoning  optimist  believes 
that  with  our  present  methods  of  Church  finance, 
it  is  possible  that  the  World  will  be  Christianized 
during  the  Twentieth  Century.  No  one  not  an 
unreasoning  pessimist  believes  that  if  all  Chris- 
tians practiced  the  Tithe  System  and  devoted  one- 
tenth  of  their  income  to  the  Master's  work  that 
the  World  could  not  be  brought  to  a  knowledge  of 
Christ  within  the  next  one  hundred  years.  These 
two  facts  being  conceded,  and  no  thinking  man 
will  deny  them,  three  questions  suggest  them- 
selves : — 

1st.  Who  is  most  to  blame  for  present  condi- 
tions ? 

2nd.    The  Results, 

3rd.     The  Remedy. 

Answering  the  first  question  as  to  who  is  most 
to  blame,  it  is  my  deliberate  conviction  based  on 
more  than  twenty-five  years  varied  experience  and 
growing  more  decided  each  year,  that  the  blame 
very  largely  lies  at  the  doors  of  our  Theological 
Seminaries  and  Theological  Professors,  the  teach- 

vii 


1[ntro^uctton 


ers  of  our  teachers.  They  must  bear  a  very  large 
share  of  the  responsibiHty. 

There  will  be,  there  can  be  no  permanent 
change  for  the  better  while  our  religious  teachers 
are  taught  to  teach  us  a  lot  of  generalities  which 
do  not  have  even  the  merit  of  being  glittering  on 
this,  of  all  subjects  connected  with  the  Christian 
life  of  laymen  and  lay-women,  the  most  important. 

There  will  be  slow  progress  so  long  as  such  a 
large  proportion  of  students  for  the  ministry  are 
taught  that  we  laymen  and  lay-women  owe  every- 
thing to  God  in  general  but  nothing  in  particular, 
nothing  definite ;  that  the  time  of  payment,  man- 
ner of  payment,  and  even  the  amount  of  payment 
of  whatever  we  owe,  or  think  we  owe,  or  some- 
body else  tells  us  we  owe,  is  left  entirely  to  our 
natural  disposition  to  benevolence  or  stinginess  or 
to  our  moods  and  caprices.  That  payment  to 
God  of  any  definite  proportion  of  our  income  does 
not  enter  into  the  Christian  system;  that  all  our 
benevolences  are  to  be  classed  under  the  general 
term  of  ''Giving,"  thus  placing  our  Heavenly 
Father  and  the  street  beggar  to  whom  we  may 
give  a  few  pennies,  in  the  same  category.  That  it 
is  right  and  not  an  insult  to  the  Almighty  to  teach 
us  that  we  can  give  money  to  God ;  that  the  basis 
and  foundation  of  the  Christian  system  of  provid- 
ing means  for  carrying  on  the  Master's  work  in 
viii 


1[ntrot)Uction 


discipling  all  Nations  is  founded  on  a  few  sen- 
tences from  a  letter  Paul  wrote  to  the  Chris- 
tians in  Corinth,  urging  them  to  make  a  generous 
free  will  offering  in  aid  of  some  suffering  fellow 
Christians  down  at  Jerusalem.  For  obvious  rea- 
sons, the  reason  he  gives  for  urgency  in  the  mat- 
ter is  very  rarely  quoted :  ''That  there  be  no  col- 
lections when  I  come."  Paul  evidently  had  his 
share  of  human  nature,  and  special  collections 
which  most  Ministers  so  much  dread  was  proba- 
bly also  his  pet  aversion. 

During  the  past  year  I  have  had  a  very  strik- 
ing confirmation  of  this  opinion.  On  September 
29th,  1902,  I  sent  a  copy  of  the  following  letter 
to  the  President  or  leading  official  in  each  of  the 
Evangelical  Theological  Seminaries  in  the  United 
States  and  Canada,  152  in  all: — 

Dear  Sir — By  this  mail  I  send  you  a  sample  package 
of  such  literature  as  I  publish  on  the  subject  of  "Honor- 
ing God  with  our  Substance."  I  will  take  pleasure  in 
sending  gratis,  express  prepaid,  a  sufficient  number  of 
similar  packages  to  supply  one  for  each  theological  stu- 
dent under  your  care  if  you  or  some  one  in  your  institu- 
tion will  state  how  many  will  be  required  and  agree  that 
they  shall  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  students.  Hoping 
to  hear  from  you,  I  am 

Yours  very  truly, 


IX 


1Fntrot)Uctton 


Just  twenty-seven  accepted  the  offer,  thus 
showing  that  nearly  five-sixths  of  those  to  whom 
the  letters  were  addressed  were  not  willing  or 
indifferent  as  to  whether  the  students  under  their 
care  should  be  taught  that  the  debt  we  owe  to 
God  means  anything  definite. 

In  November  of  the  same  year  I  sent  a  similar 
letter  addressed  to  the  ''Professor  of  Practical 
Theology"  in  the  125  institutions  where  the  first 
offer  was  not  accepted.  A  total  of  22  responded 
and  expressed  a  willingness  some  of  them  an 
earnest  desire  to  distribute  literature  on  Tithing 
among  the  students.  Next  I  tried  to  reach  the 
students  direct,  as  I  had  failed  to  reach  them  by 
the  first  two  methods  in  more  than  two-thirds  of 
the  Seminaries  of  our  country  and  Canada.  Once 
more  I  had  written  and  personally  signed  103  let- 
ters, the  envelope  being  addressed  ''To  That 
Student  Most  Interested  in  the  Subject  of  'Hon- 
oring God  with  our  Substance/  "  The  letter  en- 
closed was  as  follows: — 

To  the  student  receiving  this  letter : — 

Dear  Sir — By  this  mail  I  send  you  samples  of  such 
literature  as  I  publish  on  the  subject  of  "Honoring  God 
with  our  Substance."  I  will  take  pleasure  in  sending 
gratis,  express  prepaid,  a  sufficient  number  of  similar 
packages  to  supply  one  for  each  Theological  student  in 
your  Seminary,  If  you  will  state  how  many  will  be  re- 

X 


1rntro^uctton 


quired  and  agree  that  they  shall  be  placed  in  the  hands 
of  the  students. 

When  you  engage  in  your  life  work  you  will  find  no 
subject  of  such  vital  interest  to  laymen,  and  a  thorough 
understanding  of  it,  and  ability  to  explain  it,  will  greatly 
aid  you  in  Church  and  Missionary  support. 

Awaiting  your  reply,  and  hoping  for  your  co-opera- 
tion, I  remain 

Yours  very  truly. 

To  my  great  surprise  on-ly  ten  accepted  this 
offer,  leaving  93  institutions  devoted  to  training 
preachers  either  indifferent  or  unwilling  to  per- 
mit their  students  to  accept  and  read,  without 
expense,  the  same  literature  on  the  subject  of 
Tithing  that  active  Pastors  have  ordered  in  quan- 
tities aggregating  many  millions  during  the  last 
27  years  for  circulation  among  their  people. 

In  contrast  with  so  much  apathy  and  indiffer- 
ence or  opposition,  many  of  the  replies  received 
were  of  the  most  encouraging  character,  the  writ- 
ers expressing  deep  interest  in  the  subject  and 
promising  hearty  cooperation. 

Another  obstacle,  and  second  only  In  Impor- 
tance, is  found  in  the  attitude  of  a  large  propor- 
tion of  the  editors  of  our  Religious  Newspapers. 
It  should  be  remembered  In  their  behalf  that 
nearly  all  of  them  are  Ministers,  and  as  a  result 
are  themselves  the  victims  of  false  teaching  or  no 
teaching  on  this  subject,  which  to  at  least  nlne- 
xi 


ITntrobuctton 


tenths  of  their  constituency,  is  of  the  most  vital 
importance.  The  few  lay-editors  of  Religious 
Newspapers  that  I  have  the  honor  of  knowing  all 
believe  in  and  practice  the  Tithe  System. 

As  in  the  case  of  Theological  Teachers,  I  have 
very  recent  confirmation  of  this  opinion. 

A  year  or  two  ago  a  fellow  worker  in  this  field, 
the  Rev.  Henry  Lansdell,  D.  D.  of  Morton  Col- 
lege, Black  Heath,  England,  an  extensive  traveler 
in  Oriental  countries,  and  noted  author  realizing 
that  Religious  books  are  read  by  so  few  people  as 
compared  with  Religious  newspapers,  conceived 
and  put  Into  execution  the  unique  Idea  of  publish- 
ing serially  In  slip  form  suitable  for  printers' 
proof,  some  of  the  results  of  the  latest  archaeo- 
logical researches  and  discoveries  bearing  on  the 
subject  of  Tithing,  supplementing  and  enriching 
them  with  his  own  researches  and  interviews 
with  eminent  archaeologists.  I  copy  from  a  let- 
ter received  from  him  dated  July  8th,  1903: 

Dear  Mr.  Kane— Your  letter  of  the  23d  June,  quite 
cheered  me.  I  have  circularized  and  sent  slips  to  up- 
wards of  1,250  editors  in  114  countries,  Kingdoms  and 
States,  sending  also  with  my  offer  in  167  cases  an  auto- 
graph or  dictated  letter.  Thus  far  the  result  is  approxi- 
mately as  follows :  No  answer  received  from  976,  and 
the  number  who  have  declined  is  248,  whilst  about  26 
have  accepted  the  series  in  whole  or  in  part.  The  num- 
ber of  copies  printed  of  four  of  these  publications 
xii 


1rntro^uctton 


amounts  to  over  400,000  weekly;  of  the  rest  I  do  not 
know  the  circulation,  but  supposing  that  each  paper  has 
four  readers,  it  does  not  seem  at  all  an  extravagant  esti- 
mate that  the  articles  will  be  brought  before  two  million 
readers  weekly.  This  surely  is  something  to  thank  God 
for! 

Out  of  the  1,250,  more  than  half  were  sent  to  America 
and  Canada.  Not  one  Canadian  paper  thus  far  has  ac- 
cepted, but  in  the  United  States  the  papers  accepting 
are  California,  1 ;  Arkansas,  1 ;  Texas,  1 ;  Ohio,  2 ;  New 
York,  1;  New  Jersey,  1;  Pennsylvania,  1;  Illinois,  1. 

It  is  my  belief — certainly  my  hope — that  Dr. 
Lansdell  has  in  preparation  a  volume  in  which  he 
will  exhaustively  treat  of  the  early  history  of  the 
Tithe. 

Unfortunately  I  have  mislaid  the  first  three 
slips,  each  about  a  newspaper  column,  sent  me  by 
Dr.  Lansdell,  and  hence  am  unable  to  give  their 
titles.  Commencing  with  the  fourth,  the  titles  are 
as  follows: — 

IV.  Egyptian  War  Tithes. 

V.  Pre-Historic  and  Spartan  Greece. 

VI.  Grseco-Persian  and  Later  Greece. 

VII.  The  Romans. 

VIII.  The  Pelasgi,  Britons  and  German-Saxons. 

IX.  Where  Did  Abram  Learn  Tithing? 

X.  Jacob's  Vow. 

XI.  Israel's  First  Tithe. 

XII.  Israel's  Second,  or  Festival  Tithe. 


xiu 


•ffntrobuctton 


Naturally  the  first  three  would  have  reference 
to  the  very  earliest  history,  including  lately  dis- 
covered evidences  of  Tithing  in  pre-historic  times. 

One  would  suppose  that  such  original  and  late 
matter  as  these  titles  indicate,  prepared  by  a 
thorough  scholar,  would  be  gladly  accepted  and 
published  by  the  religious  press.  That  it  is  not 
carries  its  own  comment. 

My  own  experience  has  in  some  respects  been 
similar.  To  illustrate :  Two  or  three  years  ago  I 
offered  for  a  limited  time  to  send  gratis,  express 
prepaid,  to  Christian  Endeavor  societies,  Epworth 
Leagues,  and  Baptist  Young  People's  Unions 
such  literature  as  I  publish  on  the  subject  of 
Tithing  sufficient  to  furnish  one  of  each  to  every 
family  represented.  I  had  the  offer  printed,  occu- 
pying about  an  inch  of  newspaper  space,  and  sent 
it  with  a  personal  letter  asking  publication  to 
practically  all  the  Evangelical  religious  newspa- 
pers in  the  United  States  and  Canada.  I  kept  no 
accurate  record  of  the  replies,  but  probably  one- 
fourth,  possibly  one-third,  cheerfully  published 
the  offer ;  two  or  three  editorially  called  attention 
to  it,  while  a  few  returned  it  with  an  offer  to 
insert  it  at  regular  advertising  rates.  The  rest 
ignored  it. 

As  to  Results.  These,  judged  by  any  fair 
standard  are  not  only  deplorable,  but  a  shame 
xiv 


Ifntrobuction 


to  our  profession  as  Christian  men  and  women. 
The  old  lady  who  boasted  that  she  had  been  a 
Christian  for  twenty-five  years  and  had  never 
failed  to  give  a  dollar  a  year  to  Foreign  Missions 
was  a  good  deal  above  the  average.  If  she  had 
given  a  like  sum,  less  than  ten  cents  a  month,  to 
Home  Missions,  she  would  not  have  suffered  by 
comparison  with  the  rest  of  us;  and  yet  we  are 
the  richest  nation  in  the  world,  and  while  now 
passing  through  a  season  of  unexampled  pros- 
perity, our  gifts  to  Missions  show  very  slight  in- 
crease ;  in  many  cases  they  are  less  than  ordinary. 
No  wonder  the  world  sneers  at  our  profession  of 
love  for  Christ  and  desire  to  see  His  Kingdom 
established  throughout  the  world.  They  have  the 
right  to  sneer  in  this  regard  and  we  are  the  last 
people  in  the  w^orld  who  have  a  right  to  criticise 
them  for  doing  it. 

In  this  respect  both  our  Heavenly  Father  and 
the  world  about  us  occupy  the  same  standpoint  of 
judgment.  No  matter  what  our  profession  may 
be,  both  God  and  the  world  measure  our  real 
interest  in  this  as  in  all  other  subjects  by  what  we 
do  for  it,  and  for  us  laymen  and  lay-women  our 
doing  is  measured  rightly  and  of  necessity  by  our 
contributions,  the  money  we  give. 

So  far  as  we  are  concerned  I  can  think  of  but 
one  excuse.    I  admit  that  it  is  a  poor  one  but  it 


Untto^uctton 


is  the  best  we  have.  We  have  either  been 
wrongly,  or  insufficiently,  taught  by  our  religious 
teachers  regarding  this  of  all  subjects  to  us  the 
most  important.  There  has  been  little  or  no 
''Thus  saith  the  Lord"  about  it;  nearly  all  our 
teaching  has  been  on  the  line  of  'Give,  Give, 
Give' ;  very  little  of  definite  payment  of  what  we 
owe  and  letting  free-will  offerings  commence 
after  our  debt  has  been  paid.  We  have  been  con- 
tinuously and  persistently  taught  that  we  can  give 
money  to  God.  We  have  even  been  exhorted  and 
urged  to  be  systematically  benevolent  in  the  mat- 
ter of  gifts  to  God.  Think  of  it!  Systematic 
benevolence  applied  to  our  Heavenly  Father.  The 
whole  system  of  our  teaching  on  this  subject  has 
been  based  on  "Giving,"  everlastingly  "Giving." 
If  this  teaching  is  right  we  laymen  can  justly 
claim  the  right  to  give  w^hat  w^e  please  and 
as  we  please.  Gifts  and  payment  occupy  very 
different  standpoints.  If  I  owe  a  debt,  it  is  a 
definite  amount  and  I  must  pay  it  when  it  is  due, 
or  be  branded  as  a  defaulter,  but  no  man  owes  a 
gift.  True,  we  both  give  and  pay  when  we  pay 
Tithes,  but  the  payment  is  to  God,  the  giving  as 
His  stewards  and  agents  is  to  our  fellow  men  for 
the  upbuilding  and  advancement  of  His  King- 
dom. 

It  is  only  fair  in  this  connection  to  say  that 
xvi 


irntrobuctton 


ministers  have  the  same  excuse,  poor  as  it  is,  that 
we  laymen  and  lay-women  have.  They  have  been 
the  victims  of  wrong  teaching  by  their  professors 
of  theology  and  teachers  of  practical — not  theo- 
retical— religion.  The  only  sensible  thing  for  us 
all  to  do  is  to  repent  and  reform. 

That  I  may  not  be  accused  of  overstating  or 
misrepresenting  the  situation,  I  copy  the  Pledge 
of  the  Tenth  Legion  of  the  Christian  Endeavor 
Society.  This  Pledge  has  been  signed  by  over 
25,000  of  the  young  people  of  our  churches.  It 
clearly  perpetuates  this  false  teaching  and  will  of 
course  bear  its  legitimate  fruit.  At  the  time  the 
Tenth  Legion  was  started  the  attention  of  its  offi- 
cers was  called  to  the  mistake  as  I  regard  it  in  the 
language,  but  they  declined  to  change  it.  It  reads 
as  follows: 

"Unto  God  the  Things  that  are  God*s" 
Enrollment  Blank. 
Please  enroll  my  name  in 

THE  TENTH  LEGION 
of  the  United  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor  as  a  Chris- 
tion  whose  practice  it  is  to  give  God  the  tithe,  and  send 
me  the  Certificate  of  Membership  * 

♦Yes,  I  know  the  stock  answer  to  this.  ''Jacob's  Vow."  But 
what  and  where  was  Jacob  when  he  used  this  language?  A 
sneak  and  a  fugitive  from  the  just  wrath  of  his  brother.  It  is  safe 
to  say  that  never  afterwards,  certainly  never  after  he  became  an 

B  xvii 


irntrot)uctton 


Another  result  is  that  while  this  is  a  Giving  Age 
as  never  before  in  the  history  of  the  world,  the 
Church  is  not  getting  her  share.  Christians  are 
giving  largely,  but  not  to  Church  objects  nor 
through  Church  channels.  There  are  tens  of 
thousands,  probably  hundreds  of  thousands,  of 
Tithe  Payers  but  their  Tithes  are  not  brought  into 
the  modern  storehouse,  the  Church,  but  are  di- 
rected into  numberless  other  channels.  Habits  of 
giving  to  objects  of  benevolence  outside  the 
Church  are  being  formed,  especially  by  the  young, 
which  will  last  for  life.  The  result  is  and  will 
continue  that  taking  into  account  the  increase  in 
wealth  and  increase  in  Giving  in  other  lines,  the 
Church  is  not  only  not  making  advance  but  rela- 
tively retrograding. 

A  further  word  about  the  results  of  this  teach- 
ing. The  Supreme  message  of  Christ  was  un- 
selfishness. Judging  by  what  we  professing 
Christians  give  to  spread  His  Name  and  Kingdom 
outside  of  our  own  churches,  which  means  Home 


honest  man  did  he  speak  of  or  regard  the  payment  of  the  Tithe 
as  a  "gift"  to  God.  It  looks  as  thoug-h  the  Pharisee  boasted  of 
giving  Tithes,  but  there  is  no  use  in  painting  him  blacker  than 
he  was.  Let  us  hope  he  had  in  mind  that  he  gave  tithes  to  the 
Temple  service,  in  which  case  the  word  he  used  was  correct.  It 
is  unfair  to  charge  even  him  with  claiming  that  he  gave  Tithes 
to  God.  So  far  as  I  recall  Christ  never  mentioned  Tithes  but 
twice.  Once  He  said  "Ye  tithe;"  in  the  other  instance  "Ye  pay 
tithes,"  and  added  his  approval. 

xviii 


ITntrobuctton 


and  Foreign  Missions,  could  anything  appear 
more  intensely  selfish  than  modern  Christianity  in 
rich  America?  Boiled  down,  it  certainly  appears 
to  mean  to  the  world  at  least,  and  I  fear  to  God, 
get  converted,  confess  Christ  before  men,  join  the 
church,  attend  church  and  prayer  meetings,  do  as 
little  as  you  can  and  be  respectable  among  your 
neighbors  towards  the  support  of  your  church  and 
pastor,  and  then  give  less  than  $2.00  each  per 
member  to  Home  and  Foreign  Missions.  Yes — 
taking  out  the  amounts  contributed  by,  say,  20 
per  cent  of  generous  givers — mark  I  do  not  say 
large  givers,  it  is  less  than  50  cents  each,  or  to  be 
liberal  less  than  5  cents  each  per  month  for  the 
conversion  of  the  world  at  home  and  abroad,  and 
all  this  in  free,  rich  America.  In  most  other 
countries  Christians  have  some  excuse  for  not 
paying  the  Tithe  to  God.  In  most  of  them  there 
is  a  State  Church,  and  the  State  claims  the  right 
to  enforce  payment  of  the  Tithe  for  the  support 
of  that  Church.  Not  so  with  us-  We  have  no 
State  Church,  and  are  accountable  to  God  only  for 
the  payment  of  the  Tenth.  As  Mr.  Stewart  ex- 
plains in  the  following  pages,  the  Tithe  is  God's 
law  for  the  race,  yet  the  payment — in  American 
churches  at  least — is  entirely  voluntary.  In  this 
respect  it  does  not  differ  from  the  law  of  the  Sab- 
bath, or  any  other  of  God's  laws.  We  may  refuse 
xix 


1Fntro^ucttott 


to  obey  any  or  all  of  them.  Our  obedience  is 
voluntary,  but  our  refusal  to  obey  does  not  abro- 
gate or  repeal  the  laws. 

I  was  rejoiced  when  I  learned  that  Mr.  Stewart, 
the  author  of  the  following  pages  had  been  study- 
ing this  subject  for  years.  I  urged  him  to  prose- 
cute the  work,  and  publish  the  results  of  his  in- 
vestigations and  conclusions.  I  had  the  pleasure 
of  reading  the  manuscript  before  publication. 
I  regard  his  work  as  excellent  from  every 
standpoint,  and  the  best  for  ''plain  people" 
I  have  ever  seen.  It  will  be  both  my  pleasure 
and  duty  to  give  it  the  widest  possible  circu- 
lation, and  I  bespeak  for  it  careful  and  prayer- 
ful reading,  more  especially  on  the  part  of  my 
brother  laymen  who  are  seeking  to  know  and  do 
their  duty  in  this  the  most  important  practical 
subject  connected  with  our  Christian  life  under 
Twentieth  Century  conditions. 

As  to  the  remedy.  There  is  no  immediate  rem- 
edy in  sight.  It  is  simply  a  question  of  more  light, 
but  light  never  enters  into  purposely  darkened 
rooms. 

In  so  far  as  Mr.  Stewart's  little  volume  comes 
into  willing  hands  it  will  help  take  down  the  shut- 
ters and  let  the  light  inta  hitherto  darkened  rooms. 
I  hope  and  believe  it  will  also  cause  many  putters- 
up-of-shutters  to  hesitate  and  at  least  be  neutral 

XX 


IFntro^uction 


rather  than  continue  their  thus    far    darkening 
work. 

When  the  teachings  of  this  httle  volume,  and 
others  yet  to  be  pubHshed  in  the  light  of  recent 
investigations  and  discoveries  have  had  time  to 
permeate  and  leaven  the  thinking  Christian  public 
he  will  be  not  only  a  brave,  but  a  rash,  professor, 
or  teacher  or  editor  who  will  at  once  advertise  his 
ignorance  and  offend  a  large  proportion  of  his 
pupils,  or  readers,  by  proclaiming  the  doctrine 
that  the  Tithe  is  not  God's  law  for  the  human  race 
and  as  enduring  as  its  author.  He  will  not  have 
the  courage  to  teach  that  it  was  a  Mosaic  insti- 
tution, that  it  was  abolished  by  Christ,  and  that 
Christ  intended  to  substitute  in  its  place  as  a 
system  of  church  finance  the  earnest  plea  of  one 
of  his  followers  30  or  40  years  later  for  a  gener- 
ous free-will  offering  from  the  churches  in  Cor- 
inth to  relieve  the  needs  of  suffering  fellow 
Christians  in  another  city. 

A  natural  question  would  be — "Do  you  expect 
that  the  character  of  the  teaching  of  a  large  ma- 
jority of  the  Theological  Professors  and  writing 
by  editors  of  the  religious  newspapers,  most  of 
them  past  middle  life,  will  be  changed  by  the 
change  in  Christian  public  opinion  on  this  sub- 
ject, and  that  they  will  become  active  teachers  of 
the  binding  obligation  of  the  Tithe?" 
xxi 


IFntrobuctton 


I  have  no  such  hope,  but  I  do  hope  and  expect 
that  they  will  be  neutral  and  refrain  from  oppos- 
ing. My  belief  is  that  active  opposition  and  in- 
difference can  and  will  be  stayed ;  but  my  hope  is 
in  the  next  generation  of  professors,  teachers  and 
preachers,  and  as  a  result  a  generation  of  laymen 
and  lay-women  who  will  teach  and  practice  that 
the  Tithe  is — not  was — God's  law  for  the  human 
race,  and  that  the  obligation  to  pay  it  is  as  binding 
now  as  it  ever  was. 

LAYMAN, 
310  Ashland  Boulevard. 

Chicago,  July  29,  1903. 


xxn 


THE  TITHE. 

ITEMS  O^  HISTORY. 

"Tithe"  is  an  Anglo-Saxon  word  meaning  "the 
tenth."  Technically  speaking,  it  is  defined  as  "the 
tenth  of  produce,  property  or  spoils  dedicated-  to 
sacred  use."  Trench  quotes  with  approval  Emer- 
son's characterization  of  language  as  "fossil  poe- 
try" and  adds,  "but  it  may  be  affirmed  of  it  with 
exactly  the  same  truth  that  it  is  fossil  ethics  or 
fossil  history.  Words  quite  as  often  and  as  ef- 
fectually embody  parts  of  history,  or  convictions 
of  the  moral  sense,  as  of  the  imagination  or  pas- 
sion of  men."  While  this  is  true  of  words  in  such 
a  fascinating  way,  it  will,  no  doubt,  furnish  the 
best  basis  of  conclusion,  to  trace  the  history  of 
this  word  and  the  principle  which  it  involves.  If 
a  word  embodies  history,  the  history  of  a  word 
may  contain  much  information  of  value.  This 
word  then  will  briefly  be  traced  in  both  Biblical 
and  Extra-Biblical  History. 

FIRST:  In  Biblical  Record  it  appears  early. 
Its  first  distinct  mention  is  in  Gen.  14 :20.  Abram 
returning  from  the  slaughter  of  the  four  kings 
was  met  by  Melchizedek,  king  of  Salem,  and  priest 
of  the  most  high  God.     He  blessed  Abram,  who 


Zhc  Uttbe 


in  turn  recognized  him  as  his  priest  before  God, 
and  ''gave  him  tithes  of  all"  the  spoil. 

Its  second  is  in  Gen.  28 :22.  Jacob  had  been  to 
the  gate  of  heaven,  and  none  other  than  Bethel 
could  be  chosen  as  a  name  for  that  place.  Here 
Jacob  under  the  impression  of  the  awe  of  God's 
presence,  vowed  a  vow,  saying,  "li  God  will  be 
with  me,  and  will  keep  me  in  this  way  that  I  go, 
and  will  give  me  bread  to  eat,  and  raiment  to  put 
on,  so  that  I  come  again  to  my  father's  house  in 
peace;  then  shall  the  Lord  be  my  God;  and  this 
stone  which  I  have  set  up  for  a  pillar,  shall  be 
God's  house ;  and  of  all  that  thou  shalt  give  me 
I  will  surely  give  the  tenth  unto  thee." 

The  third  use  is  in  connection  with  the  Levitical 
law.  The  Lord  spake  through  Moses  and  gave 
this  commandment,  which  is  most  fully  stated  in 
the  three  following  places: 

First:  Lev.  27:30-32:  ''And  all  the  tithe  of 
the  land,  whether  of  the  seed  of  the  land  or  of  the 
fruit  of  the  tree,  is  the  Lord's :  it  is  holy  unto  the 
Lord.  And  if  a  man  will  at  all  redeem  ought  of 
his  tithes  he  shall  add  thereto  the  fifth  part  there- 
of. And  concerning  the  tithe  of  the  herd  or  of 
the  flock,  even  of  whatsoever  passeth  under  the 
rod,  the  tenth  shall  be  holy  unto  the  Lord." 

Second:  Num.  18:26,  30,  31:  "Thus  speak 
unto  the  Levites  and  say  unto  them,  When    ye 


Ube  Uttbe 


take  of  the  children  of  Israel  the  tithes  which  I 
have  given  you  from  them  for  your  inheritance, 
then  ye  shall  offer  up  a  heave  offering  of  it  for  the 
IvOrd,  even  a  tenth  part  of  the  tithe."  ''Therefore 
thou  shalt  say  unto  them,  When  ye  have  heaved 
the  best  thereof  from  it,  then  ...  ye  shall  eat  of 
it  in  every  place,  ye  and  your  households ;  for  it  is 
your  reward  for  your  service  in  the  tabernacle  of 
the  congregation." 

Third :  Deut.  14  \22,  2^,  28,  29 :  ''Thou  shalt 
truly  tithe  all  the  increase  of  the  seed  that  the  field 
bringeth  forth  year  by  year.  And  thou  shalt  eat 
before  the  Lord  thy  God  in  the  place  which  he 
shall  choose  to  place  his  name  there,  the  tithe  of 
thy  corn,  of  thy  wine,  and  of  thine  oil,  and  of  the 
firstlings  of  thy  herd  and  of  thy  flocks ;  that  thou 
mayest  learn  to  fear  the  Lord  thy  God  always." 

"At  the  end  of  three  years  thou  shalt  bring 
forth  all  the  tithe  of  thine  increase  the  same  year, 
and  shalt  lay  it  up  within  thy  gates:  And  the 
Levite  (because  he  hath  no  part  nor  inheritance 
with  thee),  and  the  stranger,  and  the  fatherless, 
and  the  widow  which  are  within  thy  gates,  shall 
come,  and  shall  eat  and  be  satisfied ;  that  the  Lord 
thy  God  may  bless  thee  in  all  the  work  of  thine 
hand  which  thou  doest." 

How  long  the  Mosaic  order  was  carried  out  we 
do   not   know.     Samuel    in   his   protest   against 


Ube  Uitbe 


Israel's  askmg  for  a  king  (ist  Sam.  8:15,17),  tells 
them  that  *'he  will  take  the  tenth  of  your  seed  and 
your  vineyards  and  give  to  his  officers  and  to  his 
servants."  "Also  he  will  take  the  tenth  of  your 
sheep ;  and  ye  shall  be  his  servants." 

It  is  likely  that  the  sacred  use  of  the  tithe  was 
early  perverted  under  the  kings.  We  hear  no 
more  of  this  system  until  the  time  of  Hezekiah 
(726  B.  C),  who  instituted  once  more  ''the 
courses  of  the  priests  and  Levites"  (2d  Chron. 
31 :2-5,  10-12),  and  "commanded  the  people  that 
dwelt  in  Jerusalem  to  give  the  portion  of  the 
priests  and  Levites."  The  people  responded  at 
once,  "and  the  tithes  of  all  things  brought  they  in 
abundantly."  So  abundant  were  they  that  the 
chief  priest  reported  that,  "since  the  people  began 
to  bring  the  offerings  into  the  house  of  the  Lord, 
we  have  had  enough  to  eat  and  have  left  plenty : 
for  the  Lord  hath  blessed  his  people,  and  that 
which  is  left  is  this  great  store."  So  great  was 
this  store  that  chambers  in  the  house  of  the  Lord 
were  prepared  for  it,  and  men  were  appointed  to 
oversee  this  surplus,  who  "brought  in  the  offer- 
ings and  the  tithes  and  the  dedicated  things  faith- 
fully," and  kept  them  in  the  places  prepared  for 
them.  Before  this  reformation  Amos  had  sounded 
his  warning  in  these  ironical  words.  Amos  4 :4,  5  : 
"Come  to  Bethel  and  transgress ;  at  Gilgal  multi- 


Ube  xrttbe 


ply  transgressions ;  and  bring  your  sacrifices  every 
morning  and  your  tithes  after  three  years:  for 
this  hketh  you,  oh,  ye  children  of  Israel,  saith  the 
Lord  God." 

The  prophets  cry  out  all  along  the  line  against 
the  greed  and  selfishness  of  the  people.  The  cap- 
tivity even  did  not  burn  out  this  root  of  evil,  and 
Nehemiah  is  called  upon  to  right  the  neglect  of 
the  command,  "Honor  the  Lord  with  thy  sub- 
stance." (Prov.  3:9.)  He  joins  with  the  people 
in  a  determination  to  bring  the  first  fruits  and  the 
tithes  unto  the  priests  and  Levites,  that  (Neh. 
10 137,  38,  39)  the  'Xevites  might  have  the  tithes 
in  all  the  cities  of  our  tillage.''  "And  the  Levites 
shall  bring  up  the  tithe  of  the  tithes  unto  the 
house  of  our  God."  "And  we  will  not  forsake  the 
house  of  our  God."  But  fickle  Jewry  was  soon 
denying  the  charge  of  robbery  at  the  mouth  of 
Malachi  who  says:  "Ye  have  robbed  God  in 
tithes  and  offerings  and  are  cursed  with  a  curse." 
(Mai.  3:10.)  "Bring  ye  all  the  tithes  into  the 
storehouse,"  that  blessings,  spiritual,  temporal  and 
national,  may  be  poured  out  upon  you.  What 
Malachi  denounced,  Nehemiah  rectified  by  one 
bold  stroke.  He  gathered  the  Levites  and  singers 
from  the  fields,  whither  they  had  gone  to  earn  a 
livelihood,  and  set  them  in  their  places.  Once 
more  the  old  order  was  restored,  and  it  was  true 


Ubc  Uitbe 


that  all  Judah  (Neh.  13:12)  ''brought  the  tithe 
of  the  corn  and  the  new  wine  and  the  oil  unto  the 
treasuries." 

When  the  New  Testament  opens  its  pages  of 
history  we  find  the  tithe  principle  very  scrupu- 
lously observed  by  the  ''rigidly  righteous,"  and 
perhaps  by  a  majority  of  the  Jewish  people.  The 
7th  chapter  of  Hebrews  makes  use  of  the  word 
tithe  to  show  that  the  priesthood  of  Christ,  who 
is  after  the  order  of  Melchizedek,  is  superior  to 
the  priesthood  of  the  Levites,  because  they  in  the 
loins  of  their  father  Abraham  paid  tithes  to  Mel- 
chizedek. Barring  this  chapter  there  are  just  six 
other  places  where  the  tenth,  or  tithe,  occurs. 
Three  of  these  (John  1:39;  Rev.  11:13;  21:23) 
are  simple  numerals.  Of  the  remaining  three,  two 
refer  to  the  same  incident  as  recorded  in  Matt. 
23  :23,  and  Luke  1 1  '.42.  The  well-known  words 
of  Matthew,  who  gives  the  fullest  statement,  are 
these:  "Woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees, 
hypocrites !  for  ye  tithe  mint  and  anise  and  cum- 
min, and  have  left  undone  the  weightier  matters 
of  the  law,  judgment,  and  mercy,  and  faith:  but 
these  ye  ought  to  have  done,  and  not  to  have  left 
the  other  undone."  The  other  reference  is  equally 
well-known  and  occurs  in  the  prayer  of  the  Phari- 
see, who  said,  (Luke  18:12.)  "I  give  tithes  of  all 
that  I  get."    The  Revised  Version  is  used  in  giv- 


trbe  Uttbe 


ing  these  qmotations  because  it  more  correctly 
translates  the  verb  in  the  first  references  which 
should  also  be  translated  ''tithe"  in  the  last  refer- 
ence, for  the  Greek  verb  is  the  same  in  all  three. 

SECOND:  The  Extra-Biblical  records  have 
frequent  references  to  the  tithe,  the  number  and 
extent  of  which  can  only  be  hinted  at  in  the  brief 
selections  given. 

Since  the  time  of  Selden  who  wrote  his  famous 
''Historic  of  Tithes"  almost  300  years  ago  (the 
edition  to  which  I  have  access  was  published  in 
1618),  little  seems  to  have  been  added  to  the  his- 
torical data  respecting  the  tithe  by  those  who 
write  upon  that  phase  of  the  subject.  Every  ref- 
erence book  in  the  various  libraries  of  this  city, 
and  all  the  literature  on  the  tithe,  so  far  as  con- 
sulted, have  the  same  stereotyped  references,  with 
slight  variations  in  supposition  and  inference. 
This  fact  led  to  the  query,  "Is  there  no  new  data  ? 
Have  excavators  and  translators  of  other  litera- 
tures discovered  no  evidence  of  this  usage"? 
About  four  years  and  a  half  ago,  I  set  about  the 
task  of  reading  in  translation  all  that  was  avail- 
able of  the  mass  of  material  furnished  us  through 
the  labors  of  such  men  as  Dr.  Legge,  Prof.  Max 
Mueller,  Prof.  Sayce  and  many  others  of  the 
worthy  host  of  oriental  scholars.  A  few  of  the 
most  interesting  are  jjiven  of  the  items  that  came 


Ubc  xrttbe 


to  light  in  the  course  of  a  somewhat  extensive  and 
at  times  tedious  reading. 

In  the  hterature  of  ancient  China,  (Li  Ki,  Book 
III.,  Ch.  IL,  Sec.  27)  we  find  this  statement:  "A 
tenth  of  the  year's  expenditures  was  for  sacri- 
fices." Simcox  (Primitive  CiviHzations,  Vol.  II, 
p.  36)  comments  as  follows :  ''This  is  nearly  the 
only  recognition  of  a  tithe  for  religious  or  quasi- 
rehgious  purposes  in  China  and  probably  repre- 
sents a  very  ancient  fragment  of  tradition.  The 
king  received  a  tithe  of  the  national  produce,  and 
he  may  have  been  anciently  expected  to  spend  a 
tithe  of  the  revenue  so  obtained  upon  the  rites  of 
public  worship ;  but  an  earlier  passage  in  that  same 
book  describes  the  Son  of  Heaven  as  retaining 
nine-tenths  of  the  produce  of  his  domains  for  his 
own  use,  and  employing  the  other  tenth  to  defray 
the  charges  of  the  public  offices." 

Prof.  Maspero  (The  Dawn  of  Civilization,  p. 
302)  writes  thus  concerning  the  customs  in  ear- 
liest Egypt :  ''The  gods  of  the  side  which  was  vic- 
torious shared  with  it  in  the  triumph  and  received 
a  tithe  of  the  spoil  as  the  price  of  their  help." 
Again  (p.  706)  in  speaking  of  a  king  in  relation 
to  the  gods  among  the  ancient  Chaldeans,  he  says : 
"As  soon  as  he  had  triumphed  by  their  command, 
he  sought  before  all  else  to  reward  them  amply 
for  the  assistance  they  had  given.     He  poured  a 


8 


Ube  Uitbc 


tithe  of  the  spoils  into  the  coffers  of  their  treas- 
ury, he  made  over  a  part  of  the  conquered  coun- 
try to  their  domain,  he  granted  them  a  tale  of  the 
prisoners  to  cultivate  their  lands  or  to  work  at 
their  buildings.'' 

Prof.  Maspero  is  writing  of  the  earliest  civili- 
zation which  dates  from  3000  to  4000  B.  C, 
while  Moses,  it  needs  to  be  borne  in  mind,  lived 
and  wrote  not  more  than  1500  years  before 
Christ. 

Prof.  Hilprecht's  splendid  summary  (Explora- 
tions in  Bible  Lands  during  the  19th  Century,  re- 
cently published)  confirms  this  view.  In  giving 
account  of  Rassam's  discoveries  in  the  ruins  of 
Abu  Habba,  the  ancient  Babylonian  city  of  Sip- 
para,  he  says  (p.  275)  the  tablets  discovered 
''make  us  acquainted  with  the  duties  and  daily 
occupations  of  the  different  classes  of  temple  offi- 
cers and  their  large  body  of  servants,  with  the  or- 
dinary tithes  paid  by  the  faithful,  and  with  many 
other  revenues  accruing  to  the  sanctuary  from  all 
kinds  of  gifts,  from  the  lease  of  real  estate,  slaves, 
and  animals,  and  from  the  sale  of  products  from 
fields  and  stables.  As  tithes  were  frequently  paid 
in  kind,  it  became  necessary  to  establish  regular 
depots  along  the  principal  canals,  where  scribes 
stored  and  registered  everything  that  came  in. 
Among  the  goods  thus  received  we  notice  vege- 


Ube  mtbc 


tables,  meat,  and  other  perishable  objects  which 
the  temple  alone  could  not  consume,  and  which, 
therefore,  had  to  be  sold  or  exchanged  before  they 
decayed  or  decreased  in  value.  No  wonder  that 
apart  from  its  distinct  religious  sphere  the  great 
temple  of  Shamash  at  Sippara  in  many  respects 
resembled  one  of  the  great  business  firms  of  Babel 
or  Nippur."  He  further  says  (p.  311),  in  speak- 
ing of  some  ancient  tablets  found  in  the  ruins  of 
ancient  Nippur  by  the  party  of  which  he  was  a 
member,  ''they  consisted  of  business  documents 
referring  to  the  registry  of  tithes,  and  to  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  temple  property."  These 
tablets  discovered  in  1888  proved  to  be  a  part  of 
the  great  Temple  Library  discovered  by  Prof. 
Hilprecht  in  1900.  Many  of  them  date  back  to 
the  third  millennium  before  Christ  and  some  bear 
such  names  as  that  of  the  now  famous  author  of 
the  code  of  laws,  Hammurabi ;  and  others  belong 
to  the  time  as  remote  as  that  of  Sargon,  3800 
B.  C. 

In  "Records  of  the  Past"  (edition  of  1890,  Vol. 
in.,  p.  96)  we  read  ''In  a  field  of  a  tenth,  he  takes 
a  tenth."  "As  for  the  tithe,  he  gives  one  part  as 
tithe  to  the  palace."  Among  the  various  kinds 
of  divisions  or  land  tenures,  we  find  these  two; 
"The  division  of  a  tenth,"  and  "The  division  with 
a  tithe."     G.  Bertin,  the  translator,  says:    "The 

10 


Ube  Uttbe 


work,  as  we  know  it  from  the  fragment  in  the 
British  Museum,  is  accompanied  with  a  Baby- 
lonian translation  of  Sargon  of  Agade;  and  the 
fragments  recovered  are  those  of  a  Ninevite  trans- 
cription made  in  the  time  of  Asshurbanipal  for  his 
library."  The  tablets  are  divided  into  two  col- 
umns, the  left  hand  one  giving  the  Akkadian  and 
the  right  hand  one  the  translation.  The  trans- 
lator further  says:  "The  tablet  from  which  the 
above  is  a  translation  is  of  great  importance  as 
giving  us  information  and  particulars  as  to  the 
system  of  land  tenure  and  cultivation  of  land  in 
the  early  Akkadian  period."  The  date  of  this 
Sargon  is  now  pretty  well  fixed  at  about  3800 
B.  C.  This  extensive  system  of  land  tenure  being 
in  vogue  at  that  date  argues  that  it  had  been  in 
use  in  a  less  extensive  form  for  a  long  time  pre- 
vious to  the  date  of  this  publication. 

The  Pundit  Dutt  (Ancient  India,  Vol.  II.,  p. 
38),  writing  on  ''The  Rationalistic  Period,  B.  C. 
1000-242,"  quotes  Megasthenes  of  the  Fourth 
Century  B.  C,  who  gives  an  account  of  the  civil 
administration  of  a  city  during  that  period  as  say- 
ing :  "Those  who  have  charge  of  the  city  are  di- 
vided into  six  bodies  of  five  each."  In  enumer- 
ating the  duties  of  each,  he  says :  "The  sixth  and 
last  class  consists  of  those  who  collect  the  tenth 
of  the  prices  of  the  articles  sold." 

II 


XTbe  Ultbe 


Added  to  these  references  to  China,  India, 
Egypt,  and  Ancient  Assyria  and  Babylonia,  is  the 
array  of  evidence  commonly  presented  in  writ- 
ings on  the  tithe,  including  testimony  from  the 
Persians,  Arabians,  Phoenicians,  Carthagenians 
and  .various  other  African  communities,  the  an- 
cient Britons,  the  Grecians  and  the  Romans.  One 
familiar  instance  from  the  Greeks  will  suffice  for 
illustration. 

In  Xenophon's  Anabasis,  book  V,  chapter  3, 
we  are  told  that  ''they  divided  the  money  raised 
from  the  sale  of  captives  and  of  the  tenth  which 
they  took  out  for  Apollo  and  for  the  Ephesian 
Artemis  (Diana  of  the  Ephesians),  the  generals 
took  each  a  part  to  keep  for  the  gods."  Referring 
to  Xenophon's  own  home  in  Scillus,  we  read :  ''He 
made  both  an  altar  and  a  temple  with  the  conse- 
crated money ;  and  also  thereafter  always  col- 
lecting a  tithe  of  the  fruits  of  the  season  from  the 
land,  he  offered  sacrifice  to  the  goddess;  and  all 
the  citizens  and  neighboring  men  and  women  par- 
took of  the  feast."  A  slab  was  set  by  the  temple 
having  the  inscription,  "The  sacred  place  of  Ar- 
temis. Let  the  one  who  has  possession  and  enjoys 
the  fruit  thereof  (i.  e.,  of  the  estate)  offer  the 
tithe  each  year,  and  from  the  surplus  repair  the 
temple.    If  any  one  does  not  do  this,  it  will  be  a 


12 


XTbe  Ultbe 


care  to  the  goddess,"  i.  e.,  she  will  punish  him  as 
an  offender. 

We  now  come  to  the  era  of  the  Church  Fathers. 
Here  we  will  quote  more  at  length  because  of  the 
importance  of  this  testimony  to  the  minds  of  many 
who  are  dealing  with  this  subject.  It  is  under- 
stood that  these  witnesses  are  not  to  be  regarded 
as  final  authorities  to  those  of  us  who  believe  in 
the  inspired  revelation,  but  they  are  important 
and  interesting  because  they  reflect  the  practice 
of  the  Church  when  it  was  making  its  first  great 
effort  to  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature  and 
was  making  that  effort,  as  is  generally  supposed, 
in  use  of  methods  sanctioned  by  the  Apostles.  The 
quotations,  unless  otherwise  indicated,  are  from 
the  edition  of  The  Ante-Nicene,  Nicene  and  Post- 
Nicene  Fathers,  published  by  the  Christian  Liter- 
ature Co.  of  New  York. 

Clement  (30-100  A.  D.),  who  is  generally 
agreed  to  be  the  one  mentioned  in  Phil.  4 13,  wrote 
a  letter  to  the  Corinthians,  some  think  in  68,  but 
the  majority  in  97  A.  D.  He  says  (Vol.  I.,  p.  16), 
"These  things  therefore  being  manifest  to  us,  and 
since  we  look  into  the  depths  of  the  divine  knowl- 
edge, it  behooves  us  to  do  all  things  in  (their 
proper)  order,  which  the  Lord  has  commanded  us 
to  perform  at  stated    times.     He    has    enjoined 


13 


Ube  xrttbe 


offerings  (to  be  presented)  and  service  to  be  per- 
formed (to  Him),  and  that  not  thoughtlessly  or 
irregularly,  but  at  the  appointed  times  and  hours. 
Where  and  by  whom  He  desires  these  things  to  be 
done.  He  Himself  has  fixed  by  His  own  supreme 
will,  in  order  that  all  things  being  piously  done 
according  to  His  good  pleasure,  may  be  acceptable 
unto  Him.  Those,  therefore,  who  present  their 
offerings  at  the  appointed  times,  are  accepted  and 
blessed;  for  inasmuch  as  they  follow  the  laws  of 
the  Lord,  they  sin  not.  For  his  own  peculiar 
services  are  assigned  to  the  high  priest,  and  their 
own  proper  place  is  prescribed  to  the  priests,  and 
their  own  special  ministrations  devolve  on  the 
Levites.  The  layman  is  bound  by  the  laws  that 
pertain  to  laymen. 

Let  every  one  of  you,  brethren,  give  thanks  to 
God  in  his  own  order,  living  in  all  good  con- 
science, with  becoming  gravity,  and  not  going  be- 
yond the  rule  of  the  ministry  prescribed  to  him. 
Not  in  every  place,  brethren,  are  the  daily  sacri- 
fices offered,  or  the  peace-offerings,  or  the  sin- 
offerings  and  the  trespass-offerings,  but  in  Jeru- 
salem only.  And  even  there  they  are  not  offered 
in  any  place,  but  only  at  the  altar  before  the  tem- 
ple, that  which  is  offered  being  first  carefully  ex- 
amined by  the  high  priest  and  the  ministers 
already    mentioned.     Those,    therefore,    who  do 

14 


Zbc  mtbc 


anything  beyond  what  is  agreeable  to  His  will, 
are  punished  with  death.  Ye  see,  brethren,  that 
the  greater  the  knowledge  that  has  been  vouch- 
safed to  us,  the  greater  also  is  the  danger  to  which 
we  are  exposed." 

In  The  Teaching  of  the  Twelve  Apostles  (Vol. 
VII.,  p.  381 ) ,  supposed  to  have  been  written  about 
120  A.  D.,  we  read:  ''But  every  true  prophet 
that  willeth  to  abide  among  you  is  worthy  of  sup- 
port. So  also  a  true  teacher  is  himself  worthy, 
as  the  workman,  of  his  support.  Every  first-fruit, 
therefore,  of  the  products  of  wine-press  and 
threshing-floor,  of  oxen  and  of  sheep,  thou  shalt 
take  and  give  to  the  prophets,  for  they  are  your 
high  priests.  But  if  ye  have  not  a  prophet,  give 
it  to  the  poor.  If  thou  makest  a  batch  of  dough, 
take  the  first-fruit  and  give  according  to  the  com- 
mandment. So  also  when  thou  openest  a  jar  of 
wine  or  of  oil,  take  the  first-fruit  and  give  it  to  the 
prophets ;  and  of  money  (silver)  and  clothing  and 
every  possession,  take  the  first-fruit,  as  it  may 
seem  good  to  thee,  and  give  according  to  the  com- 
mandment." 

Justin  Martyr  (110-165)  furnishes  the  follow- 
ing testimony  (Vol.  I.,  p.  167)  when  speaking  of 
the  changes  that  have  taken  place  in  the  Chris- 
tians. He  says  that,  among  other  things,  "we 
who  valued  above  all  things  the  acquisition    of 

15 


TLbc  Uttbe 


wealth'  and  possessions,  now  bring  what  we  have 
into  a  common  stock,  and  communicate  to  every 
one  in  need."  In  describing  a  church  service 
(i86),  he  further  says:  "And  they  who  are  well- 
to  do,  and  willing,  give  what  each  thinks  fit ;  and 
what  is  collected  is  deposited  with  the  president, 
who  succours  the  orphans  and  widows,  and  those 
who,  through  sickness  or  any  other  cause,  are  in 
want,  and  those  who  are  in  bonds,  and  the 
strangers  sojourning  among  us,  and  in  a  word 
takes  care  of  all  who  are  in  need." 

Irenaeus  (120-202)  gives  an  exceedingly  valu- 
able discussion  of  the  relation  between  the  law  and 
the  gospel,  in  which  (Vol.  L,  pp.  476,  477  and 
478)  he  says:  "As  in  the  law,  therefore,  and  in 
the  Gospel  (likewise),  the  first  and  greatest  com- 
mandment is,  to  love  the  Lord  God  with  the  whole 
heart,  and  then  there  follows  a  commandment 
like  to  it,  to  love  one's  neighbor  as  one's  self; 
the  author  of  the  law  and  the  Gospel  is  shown  to 
be  one  and  the  same.  For  the  precepts  of  an  abso- 
lutely perfect  life,  since  they  are  the  same  in  each 
Testament,  have  pointed  out  (to  us)  the  same 
God,  who  certainly  has  promulgated  particular 
laws  adapted  for  each;  but  the  more  prominent 
and  the  greatest  (commandments) ,  without  which 
salvation  cannot  (be  attained).  He  has  exhorted 
(us  to  observe)  the  same  in  both.  .  .  .  And  that 


16 


Ube  Uitbe 


the  Lord  did  not  abrogate  the  natural  (precepts) 
of  the  law,  by  which  man  is  justified,  which  also 
those  who  were  justified  by  faith,  and  who  pleased 
God,  did  observe  previous  to  the  giving  of  the  law, 
but  that  He  extended  and  fulfilled  them,  is  shown 
from  His  words."  He  then  quotes  examples  from 
the  Fifth  Chapter  of  Matthew  and  speaks  of  the 
obedience  of  those  who  are  freed  from  the  bond- 
age of  the  law,  and  adds :    "And  for  this  reason 
did  the  Lord,  instead  of  that    (commandment), 
''Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery,''  forbid  even 
concupiscence;  and  instead  of  that  which    runs 
thus,  "Thou  shalt  not  kill,"  He  prohibited  anger ; 
and  instead  of  the  law  enjoining  the  giving  of 
tithes,  (He  told  us)  to  share  all  our  possessions 
with  the  poor ;  and  not  to  love  our  neighbors  only, 
but  even  our  enemies ;  and  not  merely  to  be  lib- 
eral givers  and  bestowers,  but  even  that  we  should 
present  a  gratuitous  gift  to  those  who  take  away 
our  goods".  .  .  .  "Now  all  these   (precepts),  as 
I  have  already  observed,  were  not  (the   injunc- 
tions) of  one  doing  away  with  the  law,  but  of  one 
fulfilling,  extending,  and  widening  it  among  us; 
just  as  if  one  should  say,  that  the  more  extensive 
operation  of  liberty  implies  that  a  more  complete 
subjection  and  affection  towards  our    Liberator 
had  been  implanted  within  us."     In  the  light  of 
these  statements,  we  are  to  understand  his  words 

17 


Zbc  Uttbe 


on  pages  484  and  485.  "And  the  class  of  obla- 
tions in  general  has  not  been  set  aside ;  for  there 
were  both  oblations  there  (among  the  Jews),  and 
there  are  oblations  here  (among  the  Christians). 
Sacrifices  there  were  among  the  people ;  sacrifices 
there  are,  too,  in  the  church ;  but  the  species  alone 
has  been  changed,  inasmuch  as  the  offering  is  now 
made,  not  by  slaves,  but  by  freemen.  For  the 
Lord  is  (ever)  one  and  the  same;  but  the  char- 
acter of  a  servile  oblation  is  peculiar  (to  itself), 
as  is  also  that  of  freemen,  in  order  that,  by  the 
very  oblations,  the  indication  of  liberty  may  be 
set  forth.  For  with  Him  there  is  nothing  pur- 
poseless, nor  without  signification,  nor  without  de- 
sign. And  for  this  reason  they  (the  Jews)  had 
indeed  the  tithes  of  their  goods  consecrated  to 
Him,  but  those  who  have  received  liberty  set  aside 
all  their  possessions  for  the  Lord's  purposes,  be- 
stowing joyfully  and  freely  not  the  less  valuable 
portions  of  their  property,  since  they  have  the 
hope  of  better  things  (hereafter)  ;  as  that  poor 
widow  acted  who  cast  all  her  living  into  the  treas- 
ury of  God." 

Clement  of  Alexandria  (153-217)  writing  about 
200  A.  D.  says  (Vol.  H.,  p.  366),  in  discussing  the 
source  of  the  Greek  virtues  which  he  traces  to  the 
Jewish  law,  "Besides,  the  tithes  of  the  fruits  and 
of  the  flocks  taught  both  piety  toward  the  Deity, 

18 


Ubc  Uttbc 


and  not  covetously  to  grasp  everything,  but  to 
communicate  gifts  of  kindness  to  one's  neighbors. 
For  it  was  from  these,  I  reckon,  and  from  the 
first-fruits  that  the  priests  were  maintained.  We 
now  therefore  understand  that  we  are  instructed 
in  piety,  and  in  HberaHty,  and  in  justice,  and  in 
humanity  by  the  law." 

Tertullian  (145-220),  in  describing  the  services 
of  the  Church,  says  (Vol.  III.,  pp.  46,  47), 
"Though  we  have  our  treasure-chest,  it  is  not 
made  up  of  purchase-money,  as  of  a  religion  that 
has  its  price.  On  the  monthly  day,  if  he  likes, 
each  puts  in  a  small  donation ;  but  only  if  it  be  his 
pleasure,  and  only  if  he  be  able:  for  there  is  no 
compulsion ;  all  is  voluntary.  These  gifts  are,  as 
it  were,  piety's  deposit  fund.  For  they  are  not 
taken  thence  and  spent  on  feasts,  and  drinking- 
bouts,  and  eating-houses,  but  to  support  and  bury 
poor  people,  to  supply  the  wants  of  boys  and  girls 
destitute  of  means  and  parents,  and  of  old  persons 
confined  now  to  the  house ;  such,  too,  as  have  suf- 
fered shipwreck ;  and  if  there  happen  to  be  any  in 
the  mines,  or  banished  to  the  islands,  or  shut  up 
in  prisons,  for  nothing  but  their  fidelity  to  the 
cause  of  God's  Church,  they  become  the  nurslings 
of  their  confession.  But  it  is  mainly  the  deeds  of 
a  love  so  noble  that  lead  many  to  put  a  brand  upon 
us.    See,  they  say,  how  they  love  one  another,  for 

19 


Ube  Uttbe 


themselves  are  animated  by  mutual  hatred;  how 
they  are  ready  even  to  die  for  one  another,  for 
they  themselves  will  sooner  put  to  death.  .  .  . 
One  in  mind  and  soul,  we  do  not  hesitate  to  share 
our  earthly  goods  with  one  another."  In  answer- 
ing the  objection  to  their  feasts  as  wicked  and  ex- 
travagant, he  retorts,  "The  Salii  cannot  have  their 
feast  without  going  into  debt;  you  must  get  the 
accountants  to  tell  you  what  the  tenths  of  Her- 
cules and  the  sacrifical  banquets  cost." 

Probably  it  will  not  be  amiss  to  quote  Tertullian 
on  what  he  so  aptly  styles  ''the  over-fed  Chris- 
tian," in  view  of  the  many  appeals  for  money  by 
catering  to  the  stomach  of  the  saints.  On  the  sub- 
ject of  Fasting  (Vol.  IV.,  p.  113)  he  says,  ''With 
you  'love'  shows  its  fervor  in  sauce-pans,  'faith' 
its  warmth  in  kitchens,  'hope'  its  anchorage  in 
waiters." 

Origen  (185-254)  says  (Vol.  IV.,  p.  652),  *'Cel- 
sus  would  also  have  us  to  offer  first-fruits  to 
demons.  But  we  would  offer  them  to  Him  who 
said,  "let  the  earth  bring  forth  grass,  the  herb 
yielding  seed,  and  the  fruit  tree  yielding  fruit 
after  his  kind,  whose  seed  is  in  itself  upon  the 
earth."  And  to  Him  to  whom  we  offer  first-fruits 
we  also  send  up  our  prayers."  He  is  also  quoted 
in  Smith  and  Cheetham's  Dictionary  of  Christian 
Antiquities  as  saying  (Hom.  XL,  in  Numeros), 

20 


Ube  Uitbe 


"How  then  is  our  righteousness  abounding  more 
than  that  of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  if  they 
dare  not  taste  the  fruits  of  their  land  before  they 
offer  first-fruits  to  the  priests,  and  tithes  are  sep- 
arated for  the  Levites;  whilst  I,  doing  none  of 
these  things,  so  misuse  the  fruits  of  the  earth  that 
the  priest  knows  nothing  of  them,  the  Levite  is 
ignorant  of  them,  the  divine  altar  does  not  per- 
ceive them"  ? 

Cyprian  (200-258)  in  his  treatise  "On  the  Unity 
of  the  Church' '  (Vol.  V.,  p.  429)  states  the  condi- 
tion of  the  Church  in  his  time  as  follows :  "But 
in  us  unanimity  is  diminished  in  proportion  as 
liberality  of  working  is  decayed.  Then  they  used 
to  give  for  sale  houses  and  estates ;  and  that  they 
might  lay  up  for  themselves  treasures  in  heaven, 
presented  to  the  apostles  the  price  of  them,  to  be 
distributed  for  the  use  of  the  poor.  But  now  we 
do  not  even  give  the  tenths  from  our  patrimony; 
and  while  our  Lord  bids  us  sell,  we  rather  buy  and 
increase  our  store.  Thus  has  the  vigor  of  faith 
dwindled  away  among  us;  thus  has  the  strength 
of  believers  grown  weak." 

The  Apostolic  Constitutions,  connected  in  a 
literary  way  with  The  Teaching  of  the  Twelve 
Apostles,  belong,  at  least  so  far  as  the  first  six 
books  are  concerned,  to  the  third  century.  Dr. 
Riddle  says:  "The  first  six  books  are  the  oldest; 

21 


Ube  trttbe 


the  seventh,  in  its  present  form,  somewhat  later, 
but,  from  its  connection  with  the  teaching,  proven 
to  contain  matter  of  a  very  ancient  date.  The 
eighth  book  is  of  latest  date.  It  now  seems  to  be 
generally  admitted  that  the  entire  work  is  not 
later  than  the  fourth  century,  although  the  usual 
allowance  must  be  made  for  textual  changes, 
whether  by  accident  or  design." 

Chapter  25  of  book  11.  (Vol.  VII.,  page  408) 
has  the  heading,  "Of  First-fruits  and  Tithes,  and 
after  what  manner  the  Bishop  is  himself  to  par- 
take of  them,  or  to  distribute  them  to  others." 
The  following  sentences  are  culled  out  of  this 
chapter :  "Let  him  use  those  tenths  and  first-fruits, 
which  are  given  according  to  the  command  of 
God,  as  a  man  of  God ;  as  also  let  him  dispense  in 
a  right  manner  the  free-will  offerings  which  are 
brought  in  on  account  of  the  poor,  to  the  orphans, 
the  widows,  the  afflicted,  and  strangers  in  distress, 
as  having  that  God  for  the  examiner  of  his  ac- 
counts who  has  committed  the  disposition  to  him. 
.  .  .  The  Levites,  who  attended  upon  the 
tabernacle,  partook  of  those  things  that  were 
offered  to  God  by  all  the  pople.  .  .  .  You, 
therefore,  O  bishops,  are  to  your  people  priests 
and  Levites,  ministering  to  the  holy  tabernacle, 
the  holy  Catholic  Church.  .  .  .  As,  therefore, 
you  bear  the  weight,  so  have  you  a  right  to  par- 

22 


Ube  XTitbe 


take  of  the  fruits  before  others,  and  to  impart  to 
those  who  are  in  want.  .  .  .  For  those  who 
attend  upon  the  Church  ought  to  be  maintained  by 
the  Church,  as  being  priests,  Levites,  presidents, 
and  ministers  of  God." 

Again  in  Chapter  35  (page  413)  we  read, 
"Now  you  ought  to  know,  that  although  the  Lord 
has  dehvered  you  from  the  additional  bonds,  and 
has  brought  you  out  of  them  to  your  refreshment, 
and  does  not  permit  you  to  sacrifice  irrational 
creatures  for  sin-offerings,  and  purifications,  and 
scape-goats,  and  continual  washings  and  sprink- 
lings, yet  has  He  nowhere  freed  you  from  those 
oblations  which  you  owe  to  the  priests,  nor  from 
doing  good  to  the  poor."  Other  references  will 
be  found  also  on  pages  471,  494,  and  among  the 
Canons,  page  500. 

Jerome  (345-420)  writes  in  his  letter  to  Nepo- 
tian  (Vol.  VL,  Second  Series)  as  follows:  '1,  if 
I  am  the  portion  of  the  Lord,  and  the  line  of  His 
heritage,  receive  no  portion  among  the  remaining 
tribes ;  but,  like  the  priest  and  the  Levite,  I  Jive  on 
the  tithe,  and  serving  the  altar,  am  supported  by 
its  offerings.  Having  food  and  raiment,  I  shall 
be  content  with  these,  and  as  a  disciple  of  the 
Cross  shall  share  its  poverty." 

Smith  and  Cheetham's  Dictionary  quotes 
Jerome  as  saying  on  Mai.  3:10,  "What  we  have 


23 


Zbc  xrttbe 


said  of  tithes  and  first-fruits  which  of  old  used  to 
be  given  by  the  people  to  the  priests  and  Levites, 
understand  also  in  the  case  of  the  people  of  the 
Church,  to  whom  it  has  been  commanded  to  sell 
all  they  have  and  give  to  the  poor  and  follow  the 
Lord  and  Savior.  .  .  .  If  we  are  unwilling 
to  do  this,  at  least  let  us  imitate  the  rudimentary 
teaching  of  the  Jews  so  as  to  give  a  part  of  the 
whole  to  the  poor  and  pay  the  priests  and  Levites 
due  honor.  If  any  one  shall  not  do  this  he  is 
convicted  of  defrauding  and  cheating  God.'' 

The  same  authority  quotes  Ambrose  (340-397) 
as  saying  (Sermon  34),  "God  has  reserved  the 
tenth  part  to  Himself,  and  therefore  it  is  not  law- 
ful for  a  man  to  retain  what  God  has  reserved  for 
Himself.  To  thee  He  has  given  nine  parts,  for 
Himself  He  has  reserved  the  tenth  part,  and  if 
thou  shalt  not  give  to  God  the  tenth  part,  God 
will  take  from  thee  the  nirn^  parts."  Again  in  a 
sermon  on  Ascension  Day,  *'A  good  Christian 
pays  tithes  yearly  to  be  given  to  the  poor." 

From  the  same  authority  also,  we  get  this  from 
Augustine  (354-430)  who  is  quoted  as  saying 
(Hom.  48),  "Our  ancestors  used  to  abound  in 
wealth  of  every  kind  for  this  very  reason  that  they 
used  to  give  tithes,  and  pay  the  tax  to  Caesar. 
Now,  on  the  contrary,  because  devotion  to  God 
has  ceased,  the  drain  of  the  treasury  has  increased. 

24 


Ube  Uitbc 


We  have  been  unwilling  to  share  the  tithes  with 
God,  now  the  whole  is  taken  away." 

We  quote  further  from  Augustine  (Vol.  VI., 
First  Series,  page  367).  "Let  us  give  a  certain 
portion  of  it.  What  portion?  A  tenth?  The 
Scribes  and  Pharisees  give  tithes  for  whom  Christ 
had  not  yet  shed  His  blood.  The  Scribes  and 
Pharisees  give  tithes;  lest  haply  thou  shouldst 
think  thou  art  doing  any  great  thing  in  break- 
ing thy  bread  to  the  poor,  and  this  is  scarcely 
a  thousandth  part  of  thy  means.  And  yet  I  am 
not  finding  fault  with  this;  do  even  this.  So 
hungry  and  thirsty  am  I,  that  I  am  glad  even  of 
these  crumbs.  But  yet  I  cannot  keep  back  what 
He  who  died  for  us  said  whilst  He  was  alive, 
'Except  your  righteousness  shall  exceed  the 
righteousness  of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  ye 
shall  in  no  case  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.'  The  Scribes  and  Pharisees  gave  the 
tenth.  How  is  it  with  you?  Ask  yourselves. 
Consider  what  you  spend  on  mercy,  what  you  re- 
serve for  luxury." 

In  commenting  on  Christ's  saying  in  Luke 
II  :4i,  "Give  alms,  and  behold  all  things  are  clean 
unto  you,"  Augustine  says  (pages  435  and  436), 
"When  He  had  spoken  thus,  doubtless  they 
thought  that  they  did  give  alms.  And  how  did 
they  give  them?    They  tithed  all  they  had,  they 

25 


Ube  Uttbe 


took  away  a  tenth  of  all  their  produce,  and  gave 
it.  It  is  no  easy  matter  to  find  a  Christian  who 
doth  as  much."  .  .  .  Christ  saith  to  them,  "I 
know  that  ye  do  this,  'ye  tithe  mint  and  anise, 
cummin  and  rue,'  but  I  am  speaking  of  other 
alms :  ye  despise  'judgment  and  charity.'  "... 
What  is  ''in  judgment"?  Look  back,  and  discover 
thyself;  mislike  thyself,  pronounce  judgment 
against  thyself.  And  what  is  charity  ?  "Love  the 
Lord  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul, 
and  with  all  thy  mind ;  love  thy  neighbor  as  thy- 
self:"  and  thou  hast  done  alms  first  to  thine  own 
soul,  within  thy  conscience.  Whereas  if  thou 
neglect  this  alms,  give  what  thou  wilt;  reserve 
of  thy  goods  not  a  tenth,  but  a  half;  give  nine 
parts,  and  leave  but  one  for  thine  own  self:  thou 
doest  nothing,  when  thou  dost  not  alms  to  thine 
own  soul  and  art  poor  in  thyself." 

Once  more  we  find  Augustine  saying  (Vol. 
VIII.,  page  668),  "Cut  off  some  part  of  thy  in- 
come; a  tenth,  if  thou  choosest,  though  that  is 
but  little.  For  it  is  said  that  the  Pharisees  gave 
a  tenth.  .  .  .  He  whose  righteousness  thou 
oughtest  to  exceed  giveth  a  tenth :  thou  givest  not 
even  a  thousandth.  How  wilt  thou  surpass  him 
whom  thou  matchest  not." 

Chrysostom  (347-407)  preaches  in  much  the 
same  strain  (Vol.  XIII. ,  page  69).    "They  gave 


26 


Ube  Uttbe 


tithes,  and  tithes  again  upon  tithes  for  orphans, 
widows  and  strangers;  whereas  some  one  was 
saying  to  me  in  astonishment  at  another,  "Why, 
such  a  one  gives  tithes."  What  a  load  of  disgrace 
does  this  expression  imply,  since  what  was  not  a 
matter  of  wonder  with  the  Jews  has  come  to  be 
so  in  the  case  of  the  Christians?  If  there  was 
danger  then  in  omitting  tithes,  think  how  great 
it  must  be  now." 

In  preaching  on  Matt.  5  :20,  he  says  (Vol.  X., 
pages  395,  396),  ''So  that,  though  thou  give  alms, 
but  not  more  than  they,  thou  shalt  not  enter  in. 
And  how  much  did  they  bestow  in  alms  ?  one  may 
ask.  For  this  very  thing,  I  am  minded  to  say  now, 
that  they  who  do  not  give  may  be  roused  to  give, 
and  they  that  give  may  not  pride  themselves,  but 
may  make  increase  of  their  gifts.  What  then  did 
they  give?  A  tenth  of  all  their  possessions,  and 
again  another  tenth,  and  after  this  a  third,  so  that 
they  almost  gave  away  the  third  part,  for  three- 
tenths  put  together  make  up  this.  And  together 
with  these,  first-fruits,  and  first  born,  and  other 
things  besides,  as,  for  instance,  the  offerings  for 
sins,  those  for  purification,  those  at  feasts,  those 
in  the  jubilee,  those  by  the  cancelling  of  debts, 
and  the  dismissal  of  servants,  and  the  lendings 
that  were  clear  of  usury.  But  if  he  who  gave  the 
third  part  of  his  goods,  or  rather  the  half  (for 

27 


Ube  Uttbe 


those  being  put  together  with  these  are  the  half), 
if  he  who  is  giving  the  half,  achieves  no  great 
thing,  he  who  doth  not  bestow  so  much  as  the 
tenth,  of  what  shall  he  be  worthy?  With  reason 
He  said,  ''There  are  few  that  be  saved."  .  .  . 
"For  nothing  else  do  I  hear  you  saying  every- 
where, but  such  words  as  these:  'Such  a  one  has 
bought  so  many  acres  of  land ;  such  a  one  is  rich, 
he  is  building.'  Why  dost  thou  stare,  O  man,  at 
what  is  without  ?  Why  dost  thou  look  to  others  ? 
If  thou  art  minded  to  look  to  others,  look  to  them 
that  do  their  duty,  to  them  that  approve  them- 
selves, to  them  that  carefully  fulfill  the  law,  not 
to  those  that  have  become  offenders  and  are  in 
dishonor." 

Cassian  (died  about  432)  in  the  First  Con- 
ference of  Abbott  Thomas  (Vol.  XL,  Second 
Series,  p.  503,  Ch.  I.),  makes  record  of  the 
fact  that  certain  young  men,  led  by  Thomas,  were 
"eager  to  offer  tithes  and  first-fruits  of  their  sub- 
stance" to  x\bbott  John.  This  is  said  to  be  the  first 
instance  on  record  of  payment  of  tithes  to  a  mon- 
astery. In  Ch.  II.  Abbott  John  thanks  them  for 
these  gifts  and  refers  to  Prov.  3  :g,  10  as  promis- 
ing a  blessing  for  so  doing.  In  chapters  follow- 
ing, he  speaks  of  tithes  and  other  offerings  as 
given  by  the  Lord's  commands  and  then  instances 


28 


Ube  xrttbe 


the  cases  of  Abraham,  David,  and  other  saints 
who  went  beyond  the  requirements  of  law.  He 
argues  that  we  who  are  under  the  gospel  should 
sell  all  and  give  to  the  poor,  "li  even  those  who, 
faithfully  offering  tithes  of  their  fruits,  are  obedi- 
ent to  the  more  ancient  precepts  of  the  Lord,  can- 
not yet  climb  the  heights  of  the  gospel,  you  can 
see  very  clearly  how  far  short  of  it  those  fall  who 
do  not  even  do  this."  While  he  holds  that  the  law 
is  no  longer  exacted,  he  makes  this  significant 
comment  (p.  515).  *'But  when  the  multitude  of 
believers  began  day  by  day  to  decline  from  that 
apostolic  fervor,  and  to  look  after  their  own 
wealth,  and  not  to  portion  it  out  for  the  good  of 
all  the  faithful  in  accordance  with  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  Apostles,  but  having  an  eye  to  their 
own  private  expenses,  tried  not  only  to  keep  it, 
but  actually  to  increase  it,  not  content  with  follow- 
ing the  example  of  Ananias  and  Sapphira,  then 
it  seemed  good  to  all  the  priests  that  men  who 
were  hampered  by  world  care,  and  almost  ignor- 
ant, if  I  may  say  so,  of  abstinence  and  contrition, 
should  be  recalled  to  the  pious  duty  by  a  fast  can- 
onically  enjoined,  and  be  constrained  by  the  neces- 
sity of  paying  legal  tithes,  as  this  certainly  would 
be  good  for  the  weak  brethren  and  could  not  do 
any  harm  to  the  perfect  who  were  living  under 


29 


UDc  XTitbe 


the  grace  of  the  gospel  and  by  their  voluntary 
devotion  going  beyond  the  law."  See  also  this 
same  thought  enlarged  upon  in  Ch.  33. 

Four  bishops  who  were  members  of  the  Second 
Synod  of  Tours  (567)  issued  a  letter  to  the  laity 
in  which  they  assert  that  the  tithe  should  be  paid. 
(Hefele,  Vol.  L,  p.  394).  The  Second  Synod 
of  Macon  (585)  enjoined  afresh  the  law  of  the 
tithe  under  penalty  of  excommunication  for  re- 
fusal to  observe  it.  This  is  the  first  official  en- 
actment that  is  considered  authentic  by  those  who 
are  said  to  be  authorities.  From  that  time  on  its 
endorsement  and  enforcement  became  common 
and  at  length  almost  universal  in  the  Church. 
The  first  Christian  emperors  assigned  land  and 
other  property  to  ministers  for  their  support,  but 
enacted  no  law  respecting  the  tithe.  The  first 
legal  enactment  was  made  by  Charlemagne,  king 
of  the  Franks,  768-800,  and  Roman  emperor, 
800-814.  His  Capitularies  established  its  prac- 
tice in  the  Roman  empire,  and  thence  it  spread  to 
other  lands.  Oflfa,  king  of  Mercia,  introduced  the 
tithe  system  into  England  about  the  close  of  the 
eighth  century,  and  Ethelwulf  in  the  ninth 
century,  or  according  to  Clarke  (History  of 
Tithes),  Athelstan  927,  made  it  a  law  for  the 
whole  English  realm.  To  what  the  tithe  was  to  be 
devoted  was  optional  until  Innocent  III.,  through 

30 


TTbe  trttbe 


the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  1200,  issued  a  de- 
cretal requiring  tithes  to  be  paid  to  the  clergy  of 
the  parish  to  which  the  payee  belonged,  which 
decree  Clarke  says  was  inoperative  until  reissued 
by  the  General  Council  of  Lateran,  121 5,  when 
the  parson  was  finally  given  the  parochial  right 
to  the  tithes.  The  tithe  was  introduced  into  Portu- 
gal and  Denmark  in  the  eleventh  century,  into 
Sweden  in  the  thirteenth,  and  soon  became  a  gen- 
eral law  of  Christendom. 

The  Roman  secular  law  provided  that  any  one 
who  obtained  a  part  of  the  public  land  in  a  con- 
quered country  should  pay  to  the  state  a  tenth  of 
the  revenue  he  derived  from  its  rent,  and  this 
system  was  usually  transferred  to  the  colonies 
settled  on  the  soil.  When  the  church  tithe  came 
into  prominence  there  arose  two  kinds,  secular 
and  ecclesiastical  tithes,  which  to  a  greater  or 
less  extent  have  been  associated  and  commingled 
in  almost  every  civilization  from  the  earliest 
times.  It  would  be  impossible,  were  it  deemed 
necessary,  to  state  in  a  brief  limit  the  minutiae  of 
this  complicated  tithe  system.  It  was  not  abolished 
by  the  Reformation.  Luther  and  Calvin  believed 
in  tithing  for  the  support  of  the  Church.  It  may 
be  worth  while  to  quote  from  the  First  Book  of 
Discipline,  which  Knox  heartily  approved.  One 
section  runs  as  follows :  "The  sums  able  to  sustain 

31 


Zbc  Uitbe 


the  forenamed  persons,  and  to  furnish  all  things 
appertaining  to  the  preservation  of  good  order 
and  policy  within  the  Kirk,  must  be  lifted  of 
tenths,  the  tenth  sheaf  of  all  sorts  of  corn,  hay, 
hemp  and  lint:  tenth  fish,  tenth  calf,  tenth  lamb, 
tenth  wool,  tenth  foal,  tenth  cheese.  And  because 
that  we  know  that  the  tenth  reasonably  taken,  as 
is  before  expressed,  will  not  suffice  to  discharge 
the  former  necessity"  it  directs  other  gifts  and 
rents.  These  Reformers,  however,  felt  the  burden 
of  the  enforced  tithe  and  the  movement  grew 
apace  to  remove  it.  It  was  abolished  in  France  in 
1789.  Other  countries  where  any  law  obtains, 
have  largely  commuted  it  to  a  fixed  annual  sum  of 
money,  after  the  system  in  vogue  in  England  to- 
day. Enlightened  Christendom  is  rightfully  re- 
belling against  this  enforced  tribute  and  is  looking 
for  a  more  spontaneous  support. 


33 


LINES    OF    ARGUMENT. 

There  are  certain  conclusions,  it  seems  to  me, 
which  may  safely  be  drawn  from  this  brief  sum- 
mary of  the  evidence  now  before  us.  First :  The 
Tithe  is  a  Universai,  Principle,  not  a  Leviti- 
CAL  Institution. 

It  seems  peculiar  to  one  who  has  studied  the 
subject  in  the  light  of  the  new  data  which  is  now 
being  brought  to  light  so  abundantly,  that  one 
should  be  so  regularly  confronted  with  the  asser- 
tion that  the  tithe  is  a  Levitical  institution.  It  is 
stranger  still  that  so  many  ministers  continue  to 
assert  this  as  a  fact,  when  the  unanimous  testi- 
mony of  such  men  as  Prof.  Sayce,  Prof.  Maspero, 
Dr.  Hilprecht  and  others  of  their  standing  can 
easily  be  gathered  to  the  contrary.  They  all  as- 
sert that  no  matter  how  old  the  civilization  there 
is  always  abundant  evidence  of  proportionate  giv- 
ing to  the  gods  and  almost  invariably  the  tenth. 
The  only  apparent  exception  is  in  the  Laws  of 
Manu  of  Ancient  India,  wherein  we  find  one- 
tenth,  one-eighth,  and  one-sixth  specified  as  the 
tribute  to  the  king  who  doubtless  saw  to  it  that 

3-  33 


Ube  Uttbe 


one-sixth  became  general  in  India.  It  is  likely 
that  if  we  had  the  most  ancient  laws  we  would 
find  that  the  one-tenth  prevailed,  even  in  India. 

Just  as  I  had  reached  this  stage  in  writing,  there 
came  to  my  notice  a  communication  from  Rev. 
Henry  Lansdell,  D.  D.,  London,  England,  calling 
attention  to  his  investigations  in  the  same  line, 
which  abundantly  confirm  the  statements  made. 
He  gives  two  personal  incidents  which  I  deem 
worthy  of  record  here.  ''The  Rev.  J.  E.  Padfield, 
a  missionary  of  my  acquaintance,  whose  station  at 
Musulipatam  I  wisited  in  1890,  took  the  pains 
to  inquire  systematically  and  in  detail  over  his 
large  district,  of  every  native  Christian  family  in 
each  congregation,  as  to  how  much  heathen  in 
their  own  social  position  would  pay,  or  what 
would  have  been  the  amount  of  their  own  re- 
ligious offerings  had  they  continued  to  be  heath- 
ens. This  was  done  with  a  view  to  comparison 
with  what  they  gave  for  Christian  religious  pur- 
poses of  every  kind.  As  a  result  of  that  inquiry 
it  was  stated  that  the  high  caste  Brahmins  had 
been  wont  to  spend  for  religious  purposes  the 
equivalent  of  a  month's  income  per  annum ;  the 
lower  castes,  such  as  farmers,  cultivators,  and 
coolies  spending  less:  but  speaking  of  these  par- 
ticular Christians  as  a  whole  it  appeared  that 
whilst  they  were  heathen  they  had  to  expend  upon 


34 


XTbe  mtDc 


religious  observances  not  less  than  one-thirteenth 
of  their  net  incomes. 

Once  more:  when  prosecuting  my  studies  one 
day  at  the  British  Museum,  I  was  accosted  by  a 
well-educated  young  Sikh,  who  came  from  Amrit- 
sar,  and  was  brother,  or  near  relative,  of  the  chief 
priest  of  the  Golden  Temple,  which  I  remember 
to  have  visited.  Upon  my  asking  for  any  infor- 
mation he  could  give  relative  to  the  subject  I  was 
studying,  he  said  that,  in  the  time  of  Baba  Aryan 
Sodhi,  the  fifth  Sikh  Guru  (or  teacher),  the  peo- 
ple gave  a  tenth  part  of  their  incomes  for  re- 
ligious purposes ;  but  that  in  the  present  day,  good 
Sikhs  give  about  one-twentieth,  though  the  pro- 
portion varies."  These  examples  confirm  what 
I  have  learned  from  missionaries  as  to  the  present 
status  of  the  subject  in  India,  and  largely  also  in 
many  other  countries.  The  latter  instance  tends 
to  prove  that  at  times  in  the  earlier  history  of 
India  the  tithe  has  prevailed,  which  is  the  point 
with  which  we  are  at  present  concerned. 

Seeing  that  the  tithe  has  been  so  universal,  it 
may  be  of  interest  to  inquire  why  it  should  have 
been  so  universal.  It  matters  little  whether  you 
take  the  portion  offered  to  the  gods  or  the  tribute 
to  the  kings  as  the  Sons  of  Heaven  and  repre- 
sentatives of  the  gods,  why  should  we  find  in  all 
these  ancient  civilizations  one-tenth  as  the  uni- 


35 


Ubc  xrttbe 


versal  offering?  Why  should  not  all  have  had 
one-sixth  as  in  India  at  one  time  ?  It  surely  can- 
not be  ascribed  to  the  inherent  generosity  of  the 
priests  and  rulers.  Seven  is  also  a  sacred  num- 
ber.    Why  did  they  not  require  one-seventh? 

The  tithe  finds  an  interesting  parallel  in  sacri- 
fice with  which  it  is  closely  connected.  For  when 
one  is  commanded  to  sacrifice,  the  minimum  at 
least  must  be  set  to  his  sacrifice.  Sacrifice,  I  be- 
lieve, was  a  divine  institution  given  to  our  first 
parents  in  Eden.  Most  likely  the  tithe  is  seen,  in 
germ  at  least,  in  the  offerings  of  Cain  and  Abel. 
The  Council  of  Seville  viewed  Cain's  sin  as  one 
of  covetousness  in  withholding  a  portion  of  the 
tithe  or  part  that  God  required.  The  Septuagint 
reading  of  Gen.  4:7,  which  the  early  Church 
Fathers  seem  invariably  to  adopt,  and  a  literal 
translation  of  Heb.  1 1  4  point  to  this  view.  Per- 
sonally I  like  to  translate  the  latter  ''more  of  a 
sacrifice"  which  is  simple  and  includes  both  the 
idea  of  quantity  and  that  of  quality  and  spirit. 
Wickliffe  translated  it  "a.  much  more  sacrifice." 
Westcott  maintains  that  this  is  correct.  The 
critical  scholars  generally  admit  that  such  is  the 
natural  rendering,  but  claim  not  to  be  able  to  see 
why  such  a  thing  should  be  said.  Covetousness 
played  so  prominent  a  part  in  the  parent's  fall, 
why  should  it  not  in  the  son's  sin,  seeing  that  it 

36 


Ube  xrttbe 


is  one  of  the  most  persistent  of  the  Satan  brood? 
Dr.  John  Brown,  in  his  Commentary  on  He- 
brews, Vol.  IL,  page  41,  quotes  another  who  says : 
'It  is  easy  to  be  demonstrated  that  sacrifices  owe 
their  original  to  the  will  and  appointment  of  God. 
The  Apostle  says,  as  Moses  said  before  him,  that 
Abel's  sacrifice  was  acceptable  to  God.  But  it 
would  not  have  been  acceptable  if  it  had  not  been 
of  divine  institution,  according  to  that  plain,  ob- 
vious and  eternal  maxim  of  all  true  religion. 
Christian,  Mosaic,  and  natural,  'In  vain  do  they 
worship  God,  teaching  for  doctrines  the  com- 
mandments of  men,'  Mark  77.  If  there  be  any 
truth  in  this  maxim,  Abel  would  have  worshipped 
God  in  vain,  and  God  would  have  had  no  respect 
to  his  offering,  if  his  sacrifice  had  been  merely  a 
commandment  of  his  father  Adam,  or  an  inven- 
tion of  his  own.  The  divine  acceptance,  there- 
fore, is  a  demonstration  of  a  divine  institution." 
This  line  of  argument  is  almost  unanimously 
accepted  among  Christian  scholars  as  an  adequate 
basis  for  the  belief  that  sacrifice  was  a  divine  in- 
stitution. Why  is  it  not  fully  as  applicable  to  ti- 
thing? It  is  not  stated  in  Scripture,  prior  to  the 
giving  of  the  Mosaic  law,  that  either  is  a  divine 
institution.  But  if  "divine  acceptance  is  a  demon- 
stration of  a  divine  institution,"  the  tithe  has  as 
clear  a  demonstration  of  its  origin  as  has  sacrifice. 

37 


Ube  Uttbe 


Now  and  then  in  Scripture  the  whole  business  of 
sacrifice  is  spoken  of  in  a  deprecating  way.  Cf. 
Heb.  lo.  Such  is  not  the  case  in  respect  to  the 
tithe,  unless  Amos  4  '.4  be  so  taken. 

But  whatever  view  one  may  take  of  the  origin 
of  the  tithe,  there  can  be  no  reason  for  the  claim 
that  it  is  a  Jewish  institution.  It  is  true  that  there 
are  some  people  who  seem  to  think  that  Adam 
was  the  first  Jew  and  that  everything  from  Adam 
to  Christ  was  Jewish.  In  the  very  region  whence 
came  Abraham,  the  first  Jew,  the  tithe  was  in 
force  as  early  as  3800  B.  C,  which  is  nearly  2000 
years  before  there  was  a  Jew.  It  was  as  well  de- 
fined in  Babylonia  at  that  period  as  it  was  in 
Judea  in  the  time  of  Moses  and  would  much  better 
be  called  Babylonian  than  Jewish.* 

In  conclusion,  we  may  reiterate  the  words  of 
Dr.  Kennicott.  ''Whatever  custom  has  prevailed 
over  the  world,  among  nations  the  most  opposite 
in  polity  and  customs  in  general,  nations  not 
united  by  commerce  or  communication  (when  that 
custom  has  nothing  in  nature  or  the  reason  of 
things  to  give  it  birth,  and  establish  to  itself  such 


*  After  the  above  was  written,  the  following-  came  to  my  notice 
from  Prof.  Sayce  in  a  late  work  entitled,  "The  Religions  of 
Ancient  Egypt  and  Babylonia.''  In  speaking-  of  the  custom  of 
the  authorities,  he  says,  "  A  tithe  of  all  that  the  land  produced 
was  theirs,  and  it  was  rigorously  exacted,  for  the  support  of  the 
temples  and  priests.  Babylonia,  in  short,  was  the  inventor  of 
the  tithe." 

38 


Ube  Uithc 


a  currency),  must  be  derived  from  some  revela- 
tion, v^hich  revelation  may  in  certain  places  have 
been  forgotten,  though  the  custom  introduced  by 
and  founded  on  such  a  revelation  still  continued ; 
and  further,  this  revelation  must  have  been  ante- 
cedent to  the  dispersion  at  Babel,  when  all  man- 
kind, being  but  one  nation  and  living  together  in 
the  form  of  one  large  family,  were  of  one  lan- 
guage and  governed  by  the  same  laws  and  cus- 
toms." With  sacrifice,  the  tithe  went  abroad 
over  the  face  of  the  whole  earth  and  survived  long 
after  its  origin  was  forgotten.  If  ''in  the  annals 
of  all  times  none  are  found  which  did  not  pay 
tithes"  among  the  nations  of  the  past,  either  as 
an  offering  to  the  gods  or  as  a  tribute  to  the 
rulers,  the  evidence  certainly  warrants  the  con- 
clusion that  ''offerings  of  at  least  one-tenth  to 
God,  was  a  primeval  appointment  not  for  the 
Jews,  but  for  all  nations." 

Second:  Ai^though  Univkrsai,  it  Was  In- 
corporated Into  and  Made  the  Basis  of  the 
Mosaic  System  of  Tithes. 

In  the  Mosaic  system  there  was  a  general  tithe, 
conforming  in  every  feature  to  this  universal 
tithe.  Then  there  was  a  second  tithe,  of  national 
significance  only,  used  as  material  for  a  feast  at 
a  designated  place  the  first  and  second  year.  But 
the  third  year  it  was  to  be  eaten  at  home,  the*  poor 

39 


Ube  Uttbe 


sharing  in  the  feast.  This  is  the  best  view,  I 
think,  of  what  some  call  the  third  tithe.  Hence 
every  Jew  offered  two-tenths  each  year  besides 
the  first-fruits  and  all  other  offerings  free-will 
and  required.  Counting  the  first-fruits  at  from 
one-thirtieth  to  one-sixtieth  (as  rabbis  tell  us 
they  were  estimated)  the  Jew  must  needs  give 
about  twenty-five  per  cent  of  all  his  yearly  in- 
come. Chrysostom  figures  it  at  a  third  to  a  half, 
but  the  probability  is  that  he  has  it  too  high. 
Those  of  us  who  speak  on  the  tithe  are  often 
accused  of  trying  to  put  the  Church  back  on  the 
Jewish  basis,  which  is  another  of  those  foolish 
things  that  even  some  fairly  intelligent  people 
seem  to  never  tire  of  saying,  no  matter  how  little 
sense  there  is  in  them.  To  reach  a  Jewish  basis, 
the  average  Christian  would  have  to  give  at  least 
ten  times  what  he  is  now  giving,  not  merely  one- 
tenth  of  his  income.  Let  us  get  up  to  the  heathen 
standard,  before  we  worry  too  much  about  being 
Judaized. 

Third:  Be:ing  Universai,  the;  Principle  of 
THE  Tithe  is  not  to  be  Counted  as  Abrogated 
When  the  Oi.d  Testament  Economy  Ended, 
Unless  it  be  so  Stated  or  at  Least  by  Fair 
Inference  be  Implied. 

It  certainly  is  not  stated  anywhere  in  the  New 
Testament  that  the  tenth  is  no  longer  the  Lord^s. 

40 


Ube  Uitbe 


Neither  can  any  fair  inference  be  drawn  showing 
that  it  is  no  longer  holy  to  the  Lord.  The  two 
incidents  cited,  it  is  true,  contain  rebukes  to  the 
Pharisees  who  were  tithers,  but  the  tithing  is  not 
condemned  any  more  than  is  prayer  or  fasting. 
It  is  the  manner,  not  the  principle,  that  is  con- 
demned. On  the  contrary,  tithing  is  emphatically 
commended.  For  the  Savior  says,  "These  ought 
ye  to  have  done  and  not  to  have  left  the  other 
undone."  I  am  well  aware  that  it  is  the  reply  of 
many  that  Christ  merely  commended  their  doing 
what  was  a  plain  duty  under  the  Mosaic  law,  but 
that  he  in  no  way  implies  that  such  a  duty  was 
binding  on  others.  Granting  that  the  first  state- 
ment is  an  assumption,  then  we  have  it  answered 
by  another  assumption,  with  the  result  that  the 
whole  statement  of  Christ  is  of  no  weight  in  the 
matter.  Christ  did  not  always  fall  in  with  the 
teachings  of  the  Mosaic  system,  as  for  example 
in  the  matter  of  granting  divorce.  If  He  had 
wanted  to  do  away  with  the  tithe,  certainly  He 
could  have  said  so,  as  clearly  as  He  did  in  matters 
of  divorce.  He  does  not  here,  or  elsewhere,  offer 
any  substitute  for  this  universal  standard,  and  He 
spoke  often  on  the  subject  of  money  and  of  covet- 
ousness.  One  verse  in  every  four  in  the  gospels  by 
Matthew,  Mark,  and  Luke  have  to  do  with  these 
subjects,  and  one  verse  in  every  six  in  the  whole 


trbe  trttbe 


New  Testament.  Certainly  if  a  new  standard 
were  to  be  revealed,  there  is  abundance  of  oppor- 
tunity. 

The  objection  may  be  stated  here  that  sacrifice 
was  likewise  universal.  True  enough,  but  we 
have  fulfillment  of  all  its  obligations  and  typical 
significance  in  the  perfect  sacrifice,  ''The  Lamb  of 
God  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world," 
"Our  High  Priest  who  needeth  not  daily  like 
those  high  priests  who  offer  up  sacrifices,  first  for 
his  own  sin  and  then  for  the  sins  of  the  people. 
For  this  he  did  once  for  all  when  he  offered  up 
himself." 

I  have  also  met  this  objection.  Circumcision 
and  polygamy  were  universal,  and  your  argument 
would  establish  them.  In  the  first  place  circum- 
cision was  never  universal,  and  even  if  it  had 
been,  we  have  numerous  statements  in  the  New 
Testament  denying  its  further  claim  and  a  seal 
of  the  covenant,  as  I  believe,  clearly  revealed 
which  was  to  supersede  it.  As  to  polygamy,  it 
may  be  safely  affirmed  that  it  never  was  divinely 
commanded,  it  is  contrary  to  a  definite  law  of 
God,  announced  to  our  first  parents,  and  reaf- 
firmed in  the  New  Testament. 

With  sacrifice  all  the  rites  of  ceremonial  sig- 
nificance and  the  retinue  of  priests  and  Levites 
which  administered  them  came  to  an  end.     All 


42 


Zbc  Uttbe 


moral  obligations,  however,  were  not  abolished, 
but  many  of  them  were  more  strictly  interpreted. 
The  Sermon  on  the  Mount  reveals  a  higher  con- 
ception of  moral  obligation  and  requires  a  purer 
motive  than  any  precept  of  the  Old  Testament. 
The  laws  of  home  relationship  are  made  more 
binding.  The  bill  of  divorcement  is  swept  away 
and  only  the  great  principle  recognized,  namely, 
faithlessness  to  the  universal  law,  ''Thou  shalt  not 
commit  adultery."  Even  in  the  case  of  ritual 
offering  this  is  true.  Take  an  example.  While 
incense  is  abolished,  that  which  is  symbolized, 
the  great  heart  beat  of  humanity  which  we  call 
prayer,  is  not  abolished  but  is  enlarged  to  a  pre- 
cept of  exceeding  broad  scope,  "Pray  without 
ceasing." 

Now  we  demand  some  word  of  fair  implication 
at  least,  or  some  example  to  show  that  the  uni- 
versal obligation  of  the  tithe  has  been  set  aside  in 
the  general  shaking  up  of  the  earth.  It  was  not 
removed  as  being  one  of  "the  things  that  are 
made,"  but,  as  I  believe,  it  remains  as  one  of  "the 
things  which  cannot  be  shaken."  This  statement 
is  borne  out  by  the  evidence  afforded  from  its 
history.  "These  thing  ought  ye  to  have  done" 
is  a  word  that  justifies  our  conclusion. 

Fourth:  Not  Be:ing  Abrogated  When  the 
O1.D  Testament  Economy  Ended^  it  is  Uni- 

43 


Ubc  Uitbc 


ve:rsai.i.y   Binding   in   thi:   New   Te:stame;nt 
Dispe:nsation. 

Notwithstanding  all  that  has  been  written  to  the 
contrary,  I  am  firmly  persuaded  that  this  was 
recognized  by  the  early  Church.  The  quotations 
cited  are  abundantly  sufficient  to  prove  this  state- 
ment, if  fairly  interpreted.  And  this  leads  me  to 
enter  a  protest  against  the  unfair  presentation 
of  this  evidence  on  the  part  of  many  writers.  This 
can  be  illustrated  by  the  case  of  Irenaeus  who  is 
invariably,  so  far  as  I  have  seen,  set  down  as  on 
the  side  of  the  abrogation  of  the  law  of  the  tithe, 
because  he  said  in  one  place  as  quoted  on  page  17 
''instead  of  the  law  enjoining  the  giving  of  tithes, 
(He  told  us)  to  share  all  our  possessions  with  the 
poor."  Certainly  nothing  could  be  found,  nor  is 
found,  more  explicit  than  that  statement.  Yet 
any  one  who  reads  the  whole  context  will  see  that 
Irenaeus  is  contending  for  just  the  opposite  thing. 
He  classes  the  tithe,  not  with  the  ceremonial 
things,  but  with  the  natural  precepts,  by  which 
he  means  the  moral  law  as  is  clearly  shown.  To 
argue  that  Irenaeus  is  abrogating  the  tithe,  is  to 
argue  that  he  is  doing  away  with  the  law  of 
adultery  and  murder,  for  he  mentions  them  in 
exactly  the  same  language.  The  same  thing 
would  be  true  of  the  commandment  to  love  our 
neighbors.    But  why  should  we  debate  this  point 


44 


XTbe  Uitbc 


when  Irenaeus  distinctly  says,  "all  these  precepts, 
as  I  have  already  observed,  were  not  (the  injunc- 
tions) of  one  doing  away  with  the  law,  but  of  one 
fulfilling,  extending,  and  widening  it  among  us." 

Now  I  should  like  to  know  how  it  comes  that 
all  these  learned  men  who  speak  so  surely  of 
Irenaeus  have  always  neglected  to  quote  Irenaeus 
as  to  what  he  really  meant?  Personally,  I  am 
willing  to  stake  the  whole  case  on  Irenaeus.  For 
I  do  not  know  a  better  presentation  of  the  whole 
question  than  he  makes.  When  he  includes  ti- 
thing under  the  head  of  the  moral  precepts  of  the 
law  and  then  says  emphatically  ''that  the  Lord 
did  not  abrogate  the  natural  (precepts)  of  the 
law,"  I  am  sure  that  he  stated  the  whole  truth 
in  respect  to  this  subject.  That  he  enlarged  their 
scope  and  raised  the  maximum  of  moral  require- 
ment, he  rightly  affirms.  When  that  is  under- 
stood there  is  no  more  room  for  debate. 

But  why  such  dreadful  alarm  over  this  tithe 
law?  Why,  for  example,  should  the  writer  in 
Smith  and  Cheetham's  Dictionary  try  to  minimize 
all  this  testimony  of  the  Father's  ?  He  is  anxious 
to  prove  that  ''the  evidence  belonging  to  this 
period  would  seem  to  show  that  payment  of  tithe 
was  first  regarded  as  a  duty  soon  after  A.  D. 
350.  By  that  time  the  idea  generally  prevailed 
that  the  priest  of  the  Christian  Church  had  suc- 


45 


Ube  Ultbe 


ceeded  to  the  office  of  the  Levitical  priests,  and 
consequently  to  their  rights  and  privileges."  His 
bogy  comes  to  light  in  the  following:  ''Cyprian 
(Epist.  1 :9,  Ed.  Erasmus,  66  Pamel.)  writes  to 
dissuade  a  presbyter  from  accepting  the  position 
of  guardian,  on  the  ground  that  the  clergy  are 
separated  from  all  secular  business.  The  tribe  of 
Levi  had  no  inheritance  but  was  supported  by 
tithes,  that  they  might  devote  themselves  en- 
tirely to  divine  service;  'the  same  plan  and  form 
is  now  preserved  in  regard  to  the  clergy'  that  they 
may  not  be  diverted  from  their  sacred  duties, 
but  'receiving  as  it  were  tithes  may  not  depart 
from  the  altar.'  Here  the  phrase  tanquam  deci- 
mas  is  decisive  against  the  payment  of  tithe  as 
a  fixed  legal  due,  for  decimae  paid  as  legal  dues 
could  not  be  tanquam  decimae.  There  is  analogy, 
not  identity  in  the  method  of  support."  The  word 
"legal"  is  the  key  to  all  this  twisting  and  tremb- 
ling. This  will  be  explained,  perhaps,  when  we 
recall  that  he  is  an  Englishman,  and  comes  of  a 
race  that  has  suffered  much  from  enforced  ti- 
thing. Uhlhorn's  Christian  Charity  in  the  Ancient 
Church  is  marred  by  the  same  tremendous 
anxiety  to  kill  off  any  hope  of  this  legal  monster 
ever  getting  loose  again.  Hence  it  seems  that  it 
is  now  time  to  say  that  the  tithe  never  was  in 
Bible  times,  the  legal  monster  that  it  afterward 


46 


XTbe  xrttbe 


became.  Under  Old  Testament  teaching  and 
practice,  the  tithe  was  vohmtary.  No  hand  of 
force  was  used  to  collect  it,  but  as  in  the  time  of 
Hezekiah,  the  people  brought  in  the  tithes  willing- 
ly and  abundantly.  It  was  a  moral  precept,  en- 
forced by  appeals  to  the  conscience.  Hezekiah 
does  not  reckon  on  the  tithes  in  a  way  that  indi- 
cates that  he  would  compel  them  to  be  brought  in, 
but  expresses  his  gratitude  when  he  finds  that  so 
much  was  brought  in  by  the  people.  The  appeal 
of  Malachi  to  the  nation  that  had  robbed  God  is 
a  moral  appeal  and  is  based  upon  the  same 
thought  that  we  find  in  all  such  appeals  of  Scrip- 
ture. That  the  Pharisees  by  their  traditions 
had  reduced  it  to  a  burdensome  legal  requirement 
need  not  be  questioned.  So  did  they  weigh  down 
every  moral  precept  that  the  Lord  ever  laid  upon 
the  conscience  of  men.  The  advocacy  of  the  tithe 
in  this  country  is  always  on  the  voluntary  basis, 
so  far  as  I  know.  I  feel  that  it  would  be  a 
calamity  were  it  put  on  any  other  basis,  and  I 
know  that  all  who  are  working  in  this  line,  so  far 
as  I  have  become  acquainted  with  their  work, 
have  the  same  feeling.  What  we  believe  is  that 
this  is  God's  standard  of  giving,  a  minimum  be- 
low which  one  cannot  fall  and  be  entitled  to  a 
claim  on  God's  rich  promises  of  blessing  to  those 
who  give  money  for  His  work.     The  maximum 


47 


Ube  Uttbe 


claim  is  the  one  of  which  the  Fathers  so  often 
speak.  Matt.  19:21.  ''Sell  that  thou  hast,  and 
give  to  the  poor,  and  thou  shalt  have  treasure  in 
heaven."  Between  these  two  claims  love  finds 
its  field  of  operation  and  its  measure  of  perfect- 
ness.  This  is  our  view  and  the  view  which  I 
think  prevailed  in  the  early  Church. 

Clement's  Letter  to  the  Corinthians,  the  nearest 
writing  to  the  inspired  books  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, says :  ''Those  who  present  their  offerings  at 
the  appointed  times  are  blessed ;  for  inasmuch  as 
they  follow  the  laws  of  the  Lord  they  sin  not." 
(See  page  14.)  The  context  clearly  shows  that  he 
has  in  mind  the  laws  governing  the  offerings  to 
the  priests  and  Levites.  The  Teaching  speaks  of 
"giving  according  to  the  commandment,"  which 
must  mean  the  Levitical  commandment,  or  one 
similar  to  it.  Justin  Martyr  first  says  that  they 
put  what  they  "have  into  a  common  stock"  and 
later  says  "they  who  are  well-to-do  and  willing, 
give  what  each  thinks  fit,''  and  in  both  cases 
seems  to  intimate  that  what  is  contributed  is 
given  to  the  dependent.  (See  page  16.)  His 
last  instance  of  giving  as  each  one  thinks  fit,  may 
be  a  description  applicable  to  those  who  sought 
to  follow  the  law  of  the  free-will  offering  which 
is  laid  down  in  Deut.  16:10,  17,  and  reaffirmed 
by  the  Apostle  in  I  Cor.  16:2.    A  special  con- 

48 


XTbe  Uitbc 


tribution  to  the  poor  would  be  made  now  on  the 
same  basis  in  any  of  our  churches  and  does  not 
touch  the  subject  of  the  regular  support  of  the 
Church.  Yet  many  ministers  who  ought  to  know 
better,  insist  on  saying  that  this  is  the  New  Testa- 
ment law  of  giving.  It  is  most  decidedly  not  a 
New  Testament,  but  an  Old  Testament  law,  con- 
firmed by  the  New  Testament,  and  by  common 
sense  apart  from  any  question  of  Scripture  au- 
thority. 

If  Justin  meant  to  affirm  that  this  regulation 
was  in  force,  well  and  good.  But  if  he  meant  to 
say,  as  some  would  have  us  believe,  that  the 
Church  had  thus  early  gotten  on  the  basis  of 
every  man  doing  exactly  as  he  pleased,  then  all 
we  have  to  say  is  that  from  our  modern  experi- 
ence with  that  sort  of  teaching,  we  cannot  com- 
mend his  judgment  or  the  practice  of  the  Church 
of  which  he  was  a  part,  for  no  such  principle, 
ever  had,  or  ever  can  have,  the  sanction  of  God. 
Again  how  this  can  be  reconciled  with  the  state- 
ment that  they  have  put  all  into  the  common  stock 
is  more  than  I  can  see.  How  could  men  be  well- 
to-do  who  had  sold  all  and  put  it  into  the  hands 
of  others?  It  may  be  for  convenience  of  his  ar- 
gument that  he  describes  in  the  first  case  what 
some  few  have  done,  perhaps  himself  among  the 
number,  and  that  in  the  Church  service,  he  is 

4  49 


XTbe  Ultbe 


telling  of  either  the  observance  of  the  rule  of  the 
free-will  offering,  or  else  is  letting  us  into  a 
state  of  anarchy  respecting  the  proper  teaching 
on  the  subject  of  giving,  which  led  to  the  diffi- 
culties of  the  later  centuries.  The  same  com- 
ment may  be  made  on  the  statements  of  Tertul- 
lian.  It  will  be  noted  that  he  does  not  tell  how 
the  aggressive  work  of  the  Church  is  to  be  sup- 
ported, but  only  of  what  is  secured  for  what  we 
commonly  call  charitable  purposes. 

It  may  be  that  the  reason  we  begin  to  hear  of 
shortcomings  in  giving  as  early  as  in  the  time 
of  Origen  and  Cyprian,  is  that  this  every-man- 
do-as-he-thinks-fit  teaching  is  bearing  its  legiti- 
mate fruit  and  that  now  there  must  be  some 
heroic  measures  taken  to  offset  its  fatal  influence. 
From  what  these  witnesses  tell  us,  the  Church  of 
the  third  century  was  reaping  the  fruit  of  some 
erroneous  teaching  and  practice  in  respect  to  the 
giving  of  money.  From  that  time  on  the  call  is 
to  a  recognition  of  duty,  as  all  the  extracts  go  to 
show.  The  gift  of  the  maximum  had  been  made 
by  the  few.  The  many  had  followed  their  own 
will  and  the  result  was  disastrous  to  the  Church, 
and  we  are  not  surprised  that  the  later  writings 
abound  in  appeals  to  the  people  to  meet  even  the 
minimum  demands  of  the  tithe,  if  they  ever  ex- 


50 


Xlbe  xritbe 


pected  to  exceed  the  righteousness  of  the  Scribes 
and  Pharisees. 

But  it  is  to  be  noted  that  only  Justin  Martyr 
and  TertulHan  seem  to  endorse  a  hit  and  miss 
plan  of  giving.  With  these  exceptions,  the  Fath- 
ers agree  that  the  laborers  in  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  take  the  place  of  the  ministers  of  the 
Mosaic  period,  and  deserve  to  be  as  well  sup- 
ported, according  to  the  teaching  of  Christ  in 
Matt.  io:io  and  Luke  10:7,  enforced  by  that  of 
Paul  in  I  Cor.  9  7-11  and  I  Tim.  5  :i8.  And  here 
it  may  be  said  in  passing,  that  Paul  justifies  his 
plea  for  support  in  the  work  of  the  Gospel  by — 
'*Saith  not  the  law  the  same  also?"  If  the  law 
confirms  the  justice  of  the  laborer's  claim  under 
the  Gospel,  is  it  such  a  perversion  of  the  spirit  of 
the  Gospel  to  urge  that  one  do  not  fall  short  of 
a  plain  requirement  of  that  same  law?  This 
identification  of  the  teachers  of  both  dispensations 
and  of  the  method  of  their  support  is  not  a  later 
growth,  as  the  Smith  and  Cheetham's  writer 
would  have  us  believe,  but  is  found  in  the  very 
earliest  writings.  It  is  quite  likely  that  different 
practices  prevailed  at  different  times  and  in  dif- 
ferent places  in  the  Church.  But  it  is  to  be  borne 
in  mind  that  with  the  two  exceptions  named,  the 
testimony    is    for    meeting    God's    requirement, 


51 


Zhc  Uitbe 


whether  it  be  that  the  requirement  was  con- 
sidered to  be  the  whole  or  the  tithe,  and  that  there 
is  no  approval  given  to  the  do-as-you-please  plan 
in  matters  of  conduct. 

Here  I  think  it  in  place  to  repeat  some  things 
said  in  Tithe  Conferences  at  Winona  and  else- 
where during  the  past  year  in  regard  to  one  of 
the  most  persistent  and  misguided  of  all  the  ob- 
jections with  which  we  are  confronted.  It  is 
urged  that  the  New  Testament  bases  all  action 
on  love  and  that  one  must  give  according  to  his 
love  and  that  this  is  the  only  Christian  standard 
of  life  and  service.  This  is  confusion  much  con- 
founded. It  is  a  fixed  principle  of  ethics  that  men 
cannot  be  a  law  to  themselves  and  civilization  be 
preserved  and  conduct  properly  regulated. 
Though  good  men  may  fail  to  see  it,  this  method 
of  giving  according  to  the  measure  of  one's  love 
is,  at  the  bottom,  anarchy  pure  and  simple.  Every 
man  is  left  to  determine  what  he  shall  do  accord- 
ing to  the  impulse  of  the  moment  and  without  any 
regard  to  a  fixed  standard  of  right.  Such  a  prin- 
ciple cannot  be  tolerated  in  social  life.  There  is 
a  standard  of  law  which  makes  the  right  for  one 
the  right  for  all  and  to  set  this  aside  in  any  case 
is  to  invite  trouble.  In  all  human  conduct,  a 
fixed  standard,  apart  from  men,  must  be  the  basis 
of  right.     It  must  be  invariable  and  must  obtain 


Ube  xrttbe 


in  one  life  as  much  as  in  another.  Hence  this 
high-sounding  plea  for  love  as  the  basis  of  all 
action  is  pure  anarchy  in  Christian  guise.  Law- 
less grace  is  as  loveless  as  lawless  humanity. 
License  claimed  on  account  of  standing  under 
grace,  though  put  on  a  heavenly  plane,  is  hell- 
born  just  the  same.  License  means  anarchy,  and 
anarchy  is  devilish  though  concerned  with  the 
holiest  of  occupations.  To  make  love  a  standard 
of  action  is  to  confuse  a  motive  and  a  standard. 
Love  is  variable,  not  the  same  in  any  two  indi- 
viduals, and  not  the  same  in  any  individual  at 
different  times. 

Has  love  no  place  in  God's  scheme  ?  Certainly 
it  has,  and  a  very  large  place  at  that.  God's  plan 
does  not  limit  love  in  its  maximum  which  is  all 
"that  thou  hast."  But  what  we  contend  is  that 
God  does  have  a  minimum  standard  below  which 
one  cannot  fall  and  claim  to  have  the  love  of  Christ 
constraining  him.  Love  fulfills  law,  doesn't  abro- 
gate it  as  so  many  seem  to  think.  The  law  says, 
Remember  the  Sabbath  day  to  keep  it  holy.  Love 
says,  I  will  make  that  day  and  every  day  holy 
unto  the  Lord,  but  does  not  say,  I  will  do  away 
with  the  law  altogether  as  to  that  which  God  has 
made  the  minimum  requirement  of  the  race.  Love 
may  go  beyond  the  law's  requirement,  but  will  not 
fall  below  it.    Love  does  not  and  cannot  repeal 

53 


Ube  TLitbc 


law,  but  obeys  it  and  furnishes  the  only  true  mo- 
tive to  obedience.  Grace  alters  and  exalts  the 
motive  but  cannot  free  from  the  obligations  of 
law. 

A  little  clear  thinking  at  this  point  would  do 
much  to  set  many  people  right  on  this  question 
and  on  many  other  questions  of  Christian  life. 
The  large  amount  of  Pharisaical  floundering  and 
pietistic  mouthing  with  which  the  Church  is  per- 
secuted on  this  behalf  is  not  creditable  to  our  in- 
telligence or  to  our  Christianity.  So  simple  and 
fundamental  is  this  point  both  from  the  stand- 
point of  ethics  and  of  religion  that  it  seems 
strange  that  sane  men  should  ever  call  it  in  ques- 
tion. But  men  were  troubled  with  it  when  Paul 
wrote  his  letter  to  the  Romans  and  are  still 
troubled  with  it  and  strangest  of  all  quote  Paul's 
words  which  were  written  to  set  people  straight 
on  this  matter  as  the  justification  of  the  very 
thing  he  was  trying  to  correct.  To  me  this  is  one 
of  the  most  peculiar  perversions  of  Scripture 
which  has  ever  arisen  in  the  history  of  the 
Church.  That  the  epistle  to  the  Romans  which 
has  for  its  key  word  righteousness  (which  I  think 
means  rightness  according  to  God's  standard  and 
which  can  have  no  other  satisfactory  meaning), 
should  be  taken  as  the  authority  for  Antinomian- 


54 


Ube  Uitbe 


ism  which  practically  annihilates  law  is  certainly 
a  singular  proof  of  the  fact  that  some  people  have 
the  logical  faculty  in  a  very  rudimentary  state.  It 
seems  to  me  that  we  ought  to  be  able  to  see  that 
if  God's  standard  of  right  is  abrogated,  then 
nothing  can  control  a  man's  life  but  his  own 
promptings.  What  is  a  law  but  God's  standard  of 
right  in  respect  to  that  particular  line  of  conduct 
to  which  it  applies?  What  is  the  abrogation  of 
law  but  the  doing  away  with  God's  standard  and 
the  substitution  of  a  human  standard  ?  We  have 
become  so  afraid  of  the  charge  of  legalism  that 
we  have  swung  far  to  the  side  of  anarchy,  and,  as 
between  the  two,  legalism  is  the  least  to  be  feared, 
as  bad  as  it  is.  Plain  speech  is  needed  for  we 
must  not  palliate  the  consequences  of  such  teach- 
ing. Paul  meant  well  as  a  persecutor,  but  Paul 
the  preacher  greatly  deplored  his  course  of  action 
in  such  a  role.  Men  may  think  they  are  doing 
God  and  humanity  service  by  such  advocacy,  but 
to  me  it  is  the  devil's  work  and  makes  for  law- 
lessness which  is  sin  and  which  when  finished 
brings  forth  death.  Lawlessness  abounds  in 
teaching  of  school  and  Church  and  is  it  any  won- 
der that  we  stand  horrified  at  some  of  its  out- 
breaks in  our  very  midst?  Herein  I  find  a  most 
urgent  call  to  advocate  the  right  as  God  has  in- 


55 


zhc  zmc 


dicated  it  in  respect  to  giving  as  well  as  to  any 
other  of  the  lines  of  conduct  which  go  to  make 
up  a  well-rounded  life. 

Giving  is  not  left  to  the  emotions  of  men,  no 
matter  how  pure  and  holy  they  may  seem  to  be. 
Giving  is  to  be  according  to  God's  measure  or 
requirement.  To  this  it  seems  we  ought  all  to 
agree.  Has  God  a  measure?  If  so,  what  is  it 
and  how  does  it  operate  ?  Some  of  us  think  that 
He  has  and  that  it  is  fixed  and  invariable,  the 
same  always  and  for  all.  Why  should  he  not 
have?  Honest  people  of  business  ability  do  not 
sell  wheat  by  whim,  potatoes  for  appearance  sake, 
or  calico  by  hysterics.  Produce  is  measured  by 
well-defined  standards  and  disposed  of  in  due  re- 
gard to  and  careful  consideration  of  the  principles 
of  economic  distribution.  Why  be  so  careless  in 
respect  to  moral  conduct?  Ethical  principles 
ought  to  be,  and  I  believe  are  more  clearly  defined 
than  are  economic  principles.  What  is  the  rule, 
what  the  standard,  are  the  first  questions  concern- 
ing any  moral  act.  When  this  is  known  the  char- 
acter of  the  act  is  easily  determined.  Every  grace 
or  fruit  of  the  spirit  is  to  be  tested  by  this  vital  in- 
quiry. Faith,  the  first  fruit,  has  a  unit  of  meas- 
ure. Belief  unto  salvation  is  the  minimum  of 
faith.  Beyond  that  faith  may  reach  to  heights 
that  seem  to  have  no  limit.    But  it  must  measure 


56 


Ube  xrttbe 


up  to  that  minimum,  or  fail  to  merit  the  name  of 
faith.  Love  the  final  fruit,  as  we  sometimes  say, 
has  its  unit,  namely,  the  gift  of  self.  No  gift 
without  the  giver,  no  love  without  the  lover. 
These  minimum  requirements  are  agreed  upon  by 
all  teachers  of  the  gospel  of  redemption  from  sin 
through  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ.  No  one  sup- 
poses for  a  moment  that  such  teaching  involves 
the  idea  that  faith  and  love  shall  never  go  beyond 
this  minimum.    They  must  go  on  to  perfection. 

This  brings  us  to  answer  that  provoking  mis- 
representation of  the  position  of  tithers  which 
claims  that  men  ought  to  give  more  than  the 
tithe  and  that  love  to  Christ  should  lead  to  the 
consecration  of  all  to  Him.  I  do  not  know  of 
any  tither  who  feels  that  the  tenth  is  all  that  he 
ought  to  give.  Most  pastors  know  that  if  extra 
money  is  wanted,  the  tithers  are  not  the  last  to 
respond.  Further,  I  have  never  heard  such  doc- 
trine advocated  by  any  tither.  We  persistently 
say  that  we  are  dealing  with  the  minimum,  not 
with  the  maximum,  not  with  the  outgoings  of 
hearts  full  of  love  to  Christ,  but  with  those  who 
are  robbing  God  of  eve'n  His  minimum  and  are 
thus  guilty  of  the  awful  crime  of  covetousness, 
which  the  New  Testament  places  among  the  vilest 
of  crimes  and  says  that  it  will  shut  out  of  the 
kingdom.     The   fifth   chapter   of  I   Corinthians 

57 


Ube  Zitbc 


clearly  teaches  that  the  covetous  brother  is  to  be 
shut  out  of  the  fellowship  of  Christians,  even  in 
this  life.  How  does  the  treatment  of  the  rich  man 
by  many  churches  and  communities  square  with 
this  plain  teaching  ?  The  early  Fathers  were  very 
faithful  in  teaching  concerning  the  crime  of  covet- 
ousness,  following  in  the  footsteps  of  the  Apostles 
and  of  Christ  Himself.  How  about  the  minister 
who  considers  himself  above  the  business  of  men- 
tioning money  matters  to  the  congregation  ?  This 
rank  Phariseeism  needs  to  be  driven  out  of  the 
minds  of  ministers  and  theological  teachers  who 
train  ministers.  If  they  spoke  on  this  subject  as 
often  as  Christ  did,  they  would  need  to  preach  on 
it  about  once  a  month.  Mr.  Kane's  experience 
wherein  after  three  heroic  efforts,  he  only  suc- 
ceeded in  finding  theological  professors  and  stu- 
dents in  about  half  the  seminaries  in  this  country 
and  Canada  who  were  willing  to  receive  literature 
which  he  offered  to  furnish  gratis,  speaks  of  an 
awful  perversion  of  Scripture  teaching  on  this 
subject  and  a  failure  to  grasp  the  vital  questions 
of  Christian  life  which  it  touches.  Is  it  any  won- 
der that  there  is  a  constant  "drain  of  the  treas- 
ury'' as  Augustine  said?  Wrestle  with  it  as  we 
may,  the  consecrate-all-to-the-Lord  and  all  such 
plans,  have  proved  a  dismal  failure  in  respect  to 
bringing  "meat"  into  God's  house,  and  the  crying 

58 


Ube  Uftbe 


need  of  the  hour  is  money  to  send  workers  into 
all  the  world  to  preach  the  gospel.  Whatever  be 
your  scheme  for  getting  the  money,  you  know, 
brother  pastor  and  fellow-workers,  that  the  great 
hindrance  to  enlargement  of  the  Church's  work 
is  money  to  meet  necessary  expenditures.  Some 
one  always  bobs  up  with  the  mystical  dic- 
tum that  it  is  prayer,  or  consecration,  or  some- 
thing to  that  effect.  But  that  is  only  beating  the 
Devil  around  the  bush.  For  the  promised  result 
of  the  prayer,  or  the  consecration,  or  whatever 
one  may  suggest,  is  that  money  will  be  forth- 
coming. So  after  all  it  is  money  that  must  be 
gotten,  by  whatsoever  means  one  may  employ. 
The  giving  of  all  to  the  Lord  is  the  only  New 
Testament  method  which  is  offered  us  as  an  al- 
ternative. I  am  free  to  say  that  it  has  failed  to 
meet  the  case  not  only  in  our  age,  and  in  the  age 
of  the  Fathers  who  rang  the  changes  on  it,  but 
I  am  persuaded  also  that  it  did  not  meet  the 
case  in  the  days  of  the  Apostles.  It  must  always 
be  remembered  that  it  was  voluntary,  as  Peter 
said  to  Ananias,  and  though  voluntary,  it  did  not 
fail  to  present  difficulties  very  early  in  the  history 
of  the  Church,  as  the  sixth  chapter  of  Acts  shows. 
Again  it  should  be  remembered  that  the  very  fact 
that  Paul  was  instructed  to  call  for  a  collection 
for  the  poor  saints  in  Jerusalem  proves  two  things 

59 


Ubc  Zitbc 


at  least.  That  the  needs  of  the  Church  were  not 
met  by  this  voluntary  communism,  and  that  this 
communism  had  not  been  adopted  elsewhere  to 
any  great  extent,  else  the  appeal  to  people  to  lay 
aside  for  this  free-will  offering  as  God  had  pros- 
pered them  would  have  been  a  piece  of  pious  non- 
sense. 

The  Jewish  Encyclopedia  (Vol.  III.,  p.  668) 
gives  an  interesting  bit  of  evidence  as  to  the  effect 
of  this  movement.  We  read  that  * 'against  the 
tendency  prevailing  in  Essene  and  Christian 
circles  to  sell  all  one  had  and  'give  to  the  poor' 
in  order  to  have  'treasure  in  heaven'  (Matt. 
19:21),  the  rabbis  at  the  Synod  in  Usha  ordained 
that  *no  one  should  give  away  more  than  the  fifth 
of  his  fortune  lest  from  independence  he  may 
lapse  into  a  state  of  dependence'  "  (Ket.  50  a). 
While  the  evil  effect  of  anything  Christian  is  apt 
to  be  overstated  by  these  Jewish  writers,  still 
may  it  not  be  that  here  we  have  proof  that  com- 
munism, tried  under  the  most  favorable  circum- 
stances, as  it  certainly  was  under  the  early 
Church  management,  fails  to  meet  the  case,  and 
that  Christ's  saying,  ''The  poor  always  ye  have 
with  you,"  was  still  true  and  even  more  empha- 
sized under  this  method  of  social  life?  The  fact 
seems  to  stand  out  even  on  the  pages  of  the  book 
of  Acts  with  special  emphasis  that  such  a  method, 

60 


Ube  Uitbe 


with  the  very  best  management,  does  not  take 
away  the  problem  of  the  dependent,  but  really  in- 
tensifies it. 

The  Apostle  Paul  seems  to  have  had  to  deal 
with  this  tendency  toward  abuse  of  charity  and  in 
doing  so  laid  down  some  very  fundamental  propo- 
sitions to  which  the  Church  ought  always  to  give 
heed.  "For  even  when  we  were  with  you,  this 
we  commanded  you,  that  if  any  would  not  work, 
neither  should  he  eat.  For  we  hear  that  there  are 
some  which  walk  among  you  disorderly,  working 
not  at  all,  but  are  busybodies.  Now  them  that  are 
such  we  command  and  exhort  by  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  that  with  quietness  they  work,  and  eat 
their  own  bread."  II  Thess.  3:10-12.  "li  any 
provide  not  for  his  own,  and  specially  for  those  of 
his  own  house,  he  hath  denied  the  faith,  and  is 
worse  than  an  infidel."  I  Tim.  5  :8.  These  posi- 
tive teachings  certainly  argue  that  Paul  did  not 
approve  of  the  communistic  plan,  for  how  could 
one  eat  his  own  bread  or  provide  for  his  own 
household,  if  he  had  put  all  into  the  common 
fund?  In  short,  Paul,  as  the  great  organizer  of 
the  Church,  does  not  give  a  single  hint  that  he 
approved  of  such  a  method.  All  his  statements 
are  emphatic  on  the  other  side.  Even  his  own 
custom  of  working  for  his  living  argues  his  dis- 
approval of  the  communistic  idea.     This  should 


61 


Ubc  Uftbc 


be  borne  in  mind  by  those  who  are  so  sure  that 
Christian  SociaUsm  as  they  choose  to  call  it,  will 
solve  all  the  problems  respecting  the  poor.  Per- 
sonally, I  believe  that  Paul's  method  is  the  better 
one  and  will  come  nearer  than  any  other  to  the 
solution. 

The  question  is  often  asked,  why  does  not  the 
New  Testament  say  more  about  the  tithe,  if  it  is 
still  the  universal  law?  The  answer  to  this  has 
usually  been,  that  all  the  peoples  to  whom  the 
apostles  preached  had  been  accustomed  to  give  at 
least  a  tenth  for  religious  purposes  and  they  found 
no  particular  need  to  lay  emphasis  upon  what  was 
a  universal  practice.  Also  that  the  enthusiastic 
support  through  voluntary  communism  and  other 
large  free-will  offerings  made  it  unnecessary  for 
them  to  dwell  upon  it.  These  answers  have 
weight  and  might  be  counted  sufficient,  if  it  were 
not  that  they  seem  to  assume  that  the  New  Testa- 
ment is  silent  on  this  great  question.  Attention 
has  been  called  to  Christ's  commendation  of  the 
tithing  principle  and  to  Paul's  appeal  to  the  law. 
But  it  seems  to  me  that  not  enough  is  made  of 
the  treatment  of  this  subject  in  the  one  book  in 
which  we  would  naturally  expect  it,  that  is,  in  the 
book  of  Hebrews.  The  writer  was  trying  to  con- 
vince these  Hebrews  of  the  incomparably  su- 
perior character  of  Christ  and  His  priesthood  to 

62 


Zbc  xrttbe 


that  to  which  they  were  so  attached.  We  would 
naturally  suppose  that  here,  if  anywhere,  we 
would  have  some  discussion  of  the  tribute  to  this 
great  High  Priest  and  that  is  just  what  we  have 
in  the  seventh  chapter. 

Rev.  Henry  Constable  (Gold  or  the  Gospel) 
has  well  said,  ''The  Levitical  priesthood,  by  the 
command  of  God,  received  tithes  of  their  people. 
It  follows  as  certainly  that  Melchizedek  had  the 
same  claim  to  a  tenth  from  Abraham  which  they 
had  from  the  Jews,  i.  e.,  a  divine  command.  For, 
surely,  if  a  tenth  were  Levi's  right  by  divine  ordi- 
nance, while  Melchizedek  had  no  such  right  at  all, 
he  is  in  this  respect  inferior  to  Levi,  and  Paul's 
argument  from  his  reception  of  a  tenth  from 
Abraham  an  inconclusive  one."  Why,  too,  if 
Christ  does  not  have  such  a  right  and  does  not 
receive  the  tithe  is  He  not  in  that  respect  at  least 
inferior  to  Levi? 

Again,  we  quote  Dr.  John  Owen.  ''When 
Abraham  himself  gave  tithes  to  Melchizedek,  he 
did  it  not  in  his  own  name  only,  but  in  the  name 
of  himself,  and  his  whole  posterity."  He  argues 
the  significance  of  the  act  as  follows.  Abram 
was  called  to  be  "the  foundation  of  a  new 
church;"  he  "had  now  received  the  promise"  not 
only  for  himself,  but  for  "all  his  seed  in  him," 
and  whatever  he  "did  in  obedience  unto  God,  he 


63 


Ube  xrttbe 


did  undertake  in  it  for  his  posterity."  Where- 
fore ''Abraham,  in  this  solemn  address  unto  God 
by  Melchizedek  the  type  of  Christ,  wherein  he 
expressed  his  covenant  obedience  unto  him,  was 
the  representative  of  all  his  posterity  and  in  par- 
ticular of  Levi  and  all  the  priest  that  descended 
from  him.  And  having  now  received  the  whole 
land,  by  virtue  of  a  covenant,  in  behalf  of  his  pos- 
terity, that  it  should  be  theirs,  though  he  himself 
had  never  possession  of  it  nor  in  it,  he  doth  in 
the  name  of  his  posterity,  and  as  their  representa- 
tive, give  the  tenth  unto  God  by  Melchizedek;  as 
the  chief  rent  which  God  forever  reserved  unto 
himself,  upon  the  grant."  This  is  a  remarkable 
argument  from  one  who  earlier  in  his  comments 
rather  hesitatingly  tries  to  break  the  force  of  the 
tithe  argument  in  general,  largely,  it  is  evident, 
because  of  the  misuse  of  it  under  the  monstrous 
enforced  system  of  his  day.  However,  if  we,  as 
Paul  contends  in  Galatians,  are  children  of  faith- 
ful Abraham,  and  "there  are  not  two  churches, 
but  two  states  of  the  same  church"  as  Dr.  Owen 
puts  it,  then  either  Scripture  contradicts  itself,  or 
we  prove  false  to  our  covenant  relationship  and 
dishonor  Christ  when  we  do  not  do  homage  to 
Him  in  person,  as  our  father  Abraham  did  in 
type  in  the  paying  of  tithes.  I  see  no  escape  from 
this  alternative. 


64 


XTbe  trttbe 


Calvin  is  the  only  commentator,  so  far  as  ] 
have  seen,  that  has  given  a  consistent  interpreta- 
tion to  the  8th  verse.  He  says,  "For  he  thus 
reasons — those  to  whom  the  Law  assigns  tithes 
are  dying  men;  by  which  it  was  indicated  that 
the  priesthood  would  some  time  be  abrogated,  as 
their  life  came  to  an  end :  but  the  Scripture  makes 
no  mention  of  the  death  of  Melchizedek,  when  it 
relates  that  tithes  were  paid  to  him,  so  the  author- 
ity of  his  priesthood  is  limited  by  no  time,  but  on 
the  contrary,  there  is  given  an  indication  of  per- 
petuity. But  this  is  added  for  this  purpose,  lest  a 
posterior  law,  as  it  is  usual,  should  seem  to  take 
away  from  the  authority  of  the  former  law.  For 
it  might  have  been  otherwise  objected  and  said, 
that  the  right  which  Melchizedek  formerly  pos- 
sessed is  now  void  and  null,  because  God  had  in- 
troduced another  law  by  Moses,  by  which  He 
transferred  the  right  to  the  Levites.  But  the 
Apostle  anticipates  this  objection  by  saying,  that 
tithes  were  paid  to  the  Levites  only  for  a  time, 
because  they  did  not  live:  but  that  Melchizedek, 
because  he  is  immortal,  retains  even  to  the  end 
what  has  been  given  to  him  by  God." 

The  editor,  Rev.  John  Owen,  adds  this  com- 
ment: ''The  obvious  meaning  of  this  verse  is 
given  by  Calvin.  The  Levites  were  dying  men, 
which  shewed  the  character  of  their  office ;  Mel- 


65 


Ube  Uitbe 


chizedek  is  represented  as  not  dying,  which  be- 
tokens that  his  office  as  a  priest,  is  perpetual.'' 
The  tribute  to  the  priesthood  was  only  a  tempor- 
ary right  of  the  Levites,  it  will  be  noted  Calvin 
claims,  and  that  it  is  the  perpetual  right  of  the 
priesthood  which  is  after  the  order  of  Melchize- 
dek.  How  clear  and  luminous  is  this  interpreta- 
tion when  compared  with  that  of  many  who  stum- 
ble around  over  that  verse  and  pretend  not  to  be 
able  to  see  just  how  it  fits  into  the  Apostle's  ar- 
gument. It  seems  to  me  that  we  strike  the  most 
triumphant  of  all  the  notes  in  this  great  address 
to  the  Hebrews  in  this  very  verse.  Our  High 
Priest  has  as  His  type  one  that  liveth.  This  is 
preparing  the  way  for  the  "power  of  an  endless 
life"  and  ''He  ever  liveth"  which  come  later  on  in 
the  chapter.  We  are  dealing  with  that  which  has 
no  end,  which  is  true  as  much  in  respect  to  the 
tithes  paid  as  to  any  other  part  of  this  divine  ar- 
rangement. Any  claim  that  the  Levites  had  was 
only  for  the  time.  Any  claim  that  Christ  has  had 
is  living,  is  perpetual  and  no  posterior  grant  can 
make  it  null  and  void.  Here,  then,  we  have  a 
strong  and  inconvertible  statement  of  the  claim 
that  Christ  has  on  the  tithe  and  that  at  just  the 
point  where  we  might  be  led  to  expect  it.  It  seems 
to  me  that  a  man  must  be  hunting  for  something 
when  he  passes  this  by  and  cries  out  for  proof. 


XTbe  xrttbe 


It  may  be  worth  while  to  call  attention  to  this 
fact  that  the  oldest  Babylonian  reference  shows 
that  the  tithe  was  centuries  before  in  force  in  the 
near  vicinity  of  this  same  Melchizedek  and  that 
it  is  not  any  longer  a  question  where  Abraham 
got  his  idea  of  a  tithe. 

Rev.  Henry  Constable  also  makes  this  further 
point  which  is  worth  notice.  The  tithe  is  not 
ceremonial  as  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  "no  part" 
of  Jacob's  offering  ''was  for  the  use  of  the  priest- 
hood. The  priest  of  Jacob's  household  was 
Jacob  himself.  When  there  was  no  ministry  to 
support  it  was  yet  God's  claim  and  accorded  to 
Him." 

It  scarcely  seems  necessary  to  prolong  this  dis- 
cussion. The  universality  of  the  tithe,  as  a  moral 
obligation,  seems  to  me  to  be  beyond  question.  It 
is  the  universal  minimum  of  the  race  in  the  mat- 
ter of  giving  to  the  gods  and  the  conclusion  seems 
inevitable  that  it  is  the  original  requirement  of 
God.  Forms,  materials,  and  incidents  of  giving 
may  have  varied,  but  the  standard  never.  There 
does  not  appear  any  satisfactory  reason  for  be- 
lieving that  it  does  not  survive  the  changes  from 
the  Old  to  the  New  Dispensation.  The  voluntary 
tithe  was  recognized  and  urged  on  all  hands  until 
in  the  sixth  century  A.  D.  The  general  confusion 
of  Church  and  State  and  every  thing  else  that  fol- 

^7 


Ube  Uitbc 


lowed  gradually  took  away  its  voluntary  charac- 
ter. It  became  a  sort  of  enforced  tribute  to  that 
monstrous  duality  which  presided  with  such  mock 
dignity  over  all  interests,  sacred  and  otherwise, 
until  the  time  of  reformation  when  divine  truth 
and  order  began  once  more  to  appear.  In  all  the 
mighty  overturnings  of  the  era  of  Wicklifife, 
Luther,  Calvin  and  Knox,  these  ''stalwart  old 
iconoclasts"  all  contended  for  the  tithe.  While 
they  lashed  unmercifully  the  lazy  monks  and 
worldly  clergy,  yet  with  Wicklifife  they  preferred 
''the  good  old  custom  of  paying  tithes,  according 
to  one's  own  free-will,  to  good  and  godly  men, 
who  were  able  to  preach  the  gospel." 

Possibly  it  would  be  well  to  say  of  Selden  who 
is  generally  quoted  as  opposed  to  the  tithe,  that 
he  himself  says  of  his  famous  book,  "It  was  not 
written  to  prove  that  tithes  are  not  due  by  the 
Law  of  God.  .  .  .  Neither  is  it  anything  else  but 
itself,  that  is,  a  mere  narration,  and  the  Historic 
of  Tithes."  It  comes  out  in  the  course  of  the  nar- 
rative, however,  that  he  was  contending  for  the 
voluntary  tithe,  just  as  has  been  done  in  this  dis- 
cussion. He  was  suffering,  as  many  others  like 
him  have  suffered,  from  the  oppression  of  human 
enactment  and  perversion  in  respect  to  that  which 
God  intended  to  be  a  gracious  and  wholesome 
provision.     Hence  arises  the  odium    which  at- 


68 


XLbc  'c:itbe 


taches  to  the  word  tithe.  But  odium  is  not  enough 
to  excuse  the  retention  of  a  principle  represented 
by  a  name.  Like  the  name  Christian  which  we 
bear,  it  can  by  God's  help  be  made  an  honorable 
one.  It  was  so  perverted  in  the  time  of  the  kings 
of  Israel,  as  God  had  warned  them  it  would  be. 
Hezekiah,  however,  restored  its  proper  usage. 
The  tithe  was  never  intended  for  a  national  tax 
to  support  the  State.  Its  support  was  at  first  vol- 
untary as  it  seems  (i  Sam.  10:27).  It  came  to  be 
a  fixed  tribute  by  the  demand  of  such  kings  as 
Rehoboam.  It  is  to  be  remembered  that  odium, 
and  perversion,  and  the  plea  of  heavy  taxes,  did 
not  prevent  Malachi  from  accusing  the  whole 
Jewish  nation  of  robbing  God.  The  tithe  is  still 
holy  to  Him  and  ought  to  be  brought  into  His 
house  and  must,  if  large  blessings  are  to  come. 

The  facts  adduced  lead  inevitably  to  the  main 
conclusions  reached,  if  I  understand  the  prin- 
ciples of  logical  induction.  This  method  of  in- 
duction is  quite  popular  at  present,  when  applied 
to  certain  historical  data.  I  am  persuaded  that  if 
as  much  surplus  ingenuity  and  lauded  scholarship 
were  expended  on  these  data  as  are  expended  on 
other  data  to  establish  useless  hypotheses,  the 
Church  of  God  would  be  more  edified  and  would 
become  ''liberal"  in  a  manner  more  pleasing  to 
God.    Strictness  in  doctrine  and  liberality  in  giv- 

69 


Zbc  xrttbc 


ing  surely  are  more  compatible  with  divine  teach- 
ing than  liberality  in  doctrine  and  stinginess  in 
giving.  Liberality  has  affected  the  wrong  thing. 
The  slackening  of  doctrinal  teaching  has  bene- 
fited nothing,  but  has  brought  a  flood  of  Ration- 
alism, Infidelity,  and  Unbelief  on  the  Church. 
Loosen  the  purse  strings  and  cherish  "the  faith 
once  delivered  to  the  saints"  as  God  gave  it,  and 
we  have  His  word  that  the  floods  of  evil  shall  be 
driven  back  by  the  floods  of  heavenly  blessings 
which  He  challenges  us  to  receive. 

The  sweep  of  the  facts  is  broad.  The  conclu- 
sions are  inevitable.  The  tithe  is  universal.  Its 
duty  remains  to  be  performed.  It  seems  an  un- 
necessary trespass  on  time  and  patience  to  try  to 
meet  all  the  quibbles  that  may  be  started.  It  is 
not  time  for  sentiment,  nor  is  it  well  to  bring  in 
the  poor,  as  if  God  did  not  know  how  to  provide 
for  them.  Pastors  know  that  the  poor  are  not  the 
grumbiers.  Many  complain  against  the  law  that 
the  one-seventh  of  time  is  God's.  The  Sabbath 
is  not  counted  a  burden,  neither  is  it  annulled  on 
that  account.  Complaint  settles  nothing.  People 
complain  of  everything  under  the  sun  and  often 
of  things  above  the  sun.  We  are  not  called  upon 
to  adjust  the  relations  of  capital  and  labor  which 
make  the  Sabbath  and  the  Tithe  an  oppression 
(if  you  please  to  call    them    such),  in  order  to 


70 


Ube  Uitbe 


prove  the  obligation  of  the  Sabbath  and  the 
Tithe.  One-seventh  of  time  and  one-tenth  of 
money  belong  to  the  Lord.  Who  takes  either  for 
his  own  robs  God,  His  v^^ord  being  vv^itness.  The 
same  question  arises  as  to  why  both  are  not  more 
distinctly  taught  in  the  New  Testament.  Both 
are  old  and  well  established.  Each  is  a  minimum 
demanded  without  reservation.  If  this  be  not  true 
of  the  tithe,  then  there  is  no  law  governing  that 
grace  of  God  in  which  we  are  to  abound,  unless 
it  be  that  we  should  hold  with  some  of  the 
Fathers  that  "those  who  have  received  liberty 
should  set  aside  all  their  possessions  for  the 
Lord's  purpose."  This  is  the  only  other  method 
that  has  the  much  demanded  New  Testament  ap- 
proval, so  far  as  amount  is  concerned.  I  do  not 
find  even  our  brethren  who  are  so  strenuous  for 
New  Testament  teaching  and  practice,  falling 
over  themselves  to  adopt  this  method.  Our  own 
denomination  is  reckoned  as  a  liberal  one,  but 
counting  its  income  according  to  government  re- 
ports which  place  the  average  income  of  every 
man,  woman,  and  child  at  55  cents  per  day,  we 
have  never  paid  for  all  purposes  more  than  one- 
third  of  one-tenth  of  our  income  into  the  Lord's 
treasury.  Some  other  branches  of  the  Church 
may  be  a  little  better,  but  many  of  them  are  un- 
questionably worse.    Well  might  Chrysostom  ex- 

71 


Ube  Uitbe 


claim,  "O  what  a  shame !  that  what  was  no  great 
matter  among  the  Jews  should  be  pretended  to 
be  such  among  Christians !"  Instead  of  giving  a 
tithe,  we  fall  so  far  below  it  that  the  tithe  actu- 
ally seems  visionary  to  us.  The  most  careful  cal- 
culations show  very  clearly  that  God  knows  how 
much  money  he  wants  for  His  work  and  that  with 
the  tithe  of  the  Church's  income  at  present,  the 
world  could  be  evangelized  in  this  generation. 
The  early  Christians  gave  often  all  their  means 
and  all  their  time.  We  complain  of  one-seventh 
of  time  and  one-tenth  of  money.  If  the  Jews 
could  give  25  per  cent  from  the  produce  of  Ju- 
dean  hills  and  valleys,  why  cannot  we  give  cheer- 
fully at  least  one-tenth  to  the  kingdom  of  Him 
who  though  He  was  rich  yet  for  our  sakes  became 
poor  that  we  through  His  poverty  might  be  rich  ? 
He  who  falls  below  one-fourth  gives  less  than  the 
Jew.  Having  a  better  covenant,  established  on 
better  promises,  and  administered  by  a  better 
Mediator,  shall  we  grumble  at  one-tenth,  the 
tribute  of  a  heathen  or  savage  to  a  god  he  dreads 
and  with  no  spark  of  divine  love  to  call  forth  his 
offering?  To  fail  to  pay  the  tithe  is  not  only 
worse  than  Jewish  but  even  worse  than  heathen- 
ish. Nowhere  do  we  find  such  niggardliness,  no 
not  even  in  a  heathen. 

No  one  has  ever  been  the  worse  off  for  doing 

72 


Ubc  Uitbe 


his  duty  toward  God.  "The  Path  to  Wealth"  by 
"A  Blacksmith"  contains  a  chapter  of  voluntary 
testimonies  given  at  a  public  meeting.  Twenty- 
nine  testimonies  were  given  either  directly  or  in- 
directly. The  occupations  of  the  persons  were 
as  follows:  Five  not  named,  six  ministers,  four 
farmers,  two  merchants,  and  one  each  of  the  fol- 
lowing: General  agent,  Y.  M.  C.  A.  secretary, 
student,  clerk,  lady  stenographer,  principal  of 
schools,  shoemaker,  young  lady  telegraph  oper- 
ator who  had  a  mother  and  sister  to  support,  and 
a  missionary  from  India,  who  told  the  story  of 
one  of  his  native  helpers,  Bhelsari  Naiah,  who 
had  been  tithing  for  three  months  when  this  con- 
versation took  place.  "Well,  Bhelsari,  how  does 
the  tithing  system  work?"  "Capitally,  sir."  "Ah, 
how  is  that?  You  were  always  complaining  of 
being  hard  up,  and  even  in  debt,  when  you  used 
your  whole  income  for  self;  now,  you  give  one- 
tenth  to  God,  you  have  no  complaints."  "Ah, 
sir,  the  nine-tenths,  with  God's  blessing,  is  better 
far  than  the  ten-tenths  used  to  be  without  it." 
I  have  received  many  testimonies  to  the  same  ef- 
fect. Mr.  Thomas  Kane,  of  Chicago,  has  had 
thousands  and  thousands  of  such  replies,  so  that 
we  may  safely  say  that  Bhelsari's  answer  must 
stand  as  the  voice  of  general  experience. 

Not  only  have  men  tried  it  for  themselves,  but 


73 


Zbc  Uttbe 


it  has  been  tried  in  business  where  firms  have 
kept  a  strict  account  of  the  Lord's  part  and  dis- 
bursed it  for  charity  and  have  not  found  the 
Lord's  promise  wanting.  Of  late  years  it  has 
come  to  be  a  prominent  part  in  the  system  of 
finance  of  various  congregations.  What  is 
known  as  the  Tithe  Covenant  Plan  originated  in 
Wesley  Chapel  in  Cincinnati  about  eight  years 
ago.  The  central  idea  of  this  plan  is  based  upon 
the  literal  interpretation  of  Mai.  3:10,  ''Bring  ye 
the  whole  tithe  into  the  storehouse,  etc."  The 
members  bring  in  every  week  in  an  unmarked 
envelope  the  tithe  of  their  income  for  that  week 
and  all  is  counted  together  and  then  distributed 
by  the  officers  of  the  Church  according  to  a  pre- 
viously arranged  schedule.  This  congregation, 
being  a  downtown  one,  was  about  to  give  up  from 
lack  of  support,  when  this  plan  was  started  and 
now  it  is  one  of  the  most  active  churches  in  that 
city  and  is  the  most  liberal  of  any  church  in  the 
city  or  conference  in  its  support  of  charity  and 
missions. 

The  Third  United  Presbyterian  Church  of  Chi- 
cago adopted  this  plan  April  i,  1901.  The  Meth- 
odist Church  of  Shelbyville,  Ind.,  adopted  it  on 
June  I,  1 901.  The  Memorial  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  adopted  it  on  July  i,  1901. 
These  were  the  churches  that  had  made  actual 


74 


Ube  ^itbe 


trial  of  it,  when  the  Tithe  Conference  was  held  at 
Winona  in  August,  1902.  Since  then  several  have 
taken  it  up,  notably  the  Delaware  Avenue  Baptist 
Church  of  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  and  the  Eighth  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Chicago.  Mr.  Blynn  Yates  of 
Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  has  consented  to  act  as  the  dis- 
tributer of  information  in  respect  to  the  working 
of  this  plan  and  after  the  Conference  at  Winona 
this  year  literature  will  be  issued  which  will  give 
data  concerning  what  some  of  us  believe  promises 
to  be  a  mighty  factor  in  the  Church's  progress  in 
the  years  to  come.  In  all  these  congregations 
where  this  plan  has  been  given  a  fair  trial  it  has 
wrought  wonders  and  the  testimonies  that  will 
soon  be  at  your  disposal  will  be  a  revelation,  I 
judge,  to  many  who  have  been  in  despair  almost 
over  the  problem  of  financing  the  kingdom.  It 
will  show  that  God  has  a  plan  and  that  the  plan 
will  meet  the  needs  of  the  Church  to-day,  as  it 
always  has  in  the  past,  when  honestly  adminis- 
tered. No  congregation  need  fear  to  give  it  a 
fair  trial.  As  the  colored  preacher  said,  **I  hab 
nebber  known  a  church  killed  by  too  much  gibbin 
to  de  Lawd.  If  der  should  be  such  a  church, 
and  I  should  know  about  it,  I'll  tell  you  what  I'd 
do.  I'd  go  to  dat  church,  and  I'd  clamber  up  its 
moss-covered  roof,  and  I'd  sit  straddle  of  its  ridge 
pole,  and  I'd  cry  aloud,  'Blessed  am  de  dead  dat 

75 


Ube  Uitbe 


die  in  de  Lawd.'  "  If  any  one  tries  this  method 
and  faithfully  proves  the  Lord  therewith,  and 
then  goes  under,  it  certainly  will  be  time  to  say, 
"Blessed  am  de  dead  dat  die  in  de  Lawd." 

Many  give  more  than  the  tenth  and  should  do 
so.  I  know  some  who  give  one-fifth,  and  higher 
proportions  up  to  that  height  attained  by  one 
whom  it  has  been  my  privilege  to  meet  who  gives 
nine-tenths  of  his  income  and  lives  on  the  one- 
tenth.  When  we  have  paid  our  due  to  the  Lord, 
we  still  have  nine-tenths  out  of  which  to  meet  the 
call  of  the  gospel  in  such  words  as  these,  ''Give 
good  measure.  Freely  ye  have  received,  freely 
give.  Abound  in  this  grace.  Sell  that  thou  hast 
and  give  to  the  poor."  A  man  once  gave  such  a 
large  gift  to  missions  as  to  call  forth  words  of 
surprise.  He  said,  ''It  is  one-quarter  of  what  I 
own.  I  found  that  as  I  was  prospered  my  money 
engrossed  more  and  more  of  my  thoughts.  I  am 
not  going  to  be  a  slave  to  the  money  God  gave 
me,  and  I  am  going  to  conquer  the  love  of  money 
by  giving  it  away.^'  That  was  in  accord  with 
the  word  of  Christ  to  the  rich  young  ruler  and 
any  one  who  is  becoming  a  slave  of  money  ought 
not  only  to  give  a  tenth,  but  might  better  give  a 
quarter  or  a  half  or  even  all  his  money  away, 
rather  than  die  as  the  fool  died  who  laid  up  treas- 
ure for  himself  and  was  not  rich  toward  God. 


1^ 


Ubc  Uttbe 


Christ  commended  the  widow  who  gave  all  and 
cared  for  her  as  he  will  for  all  who  honor  Him 
with  their  substance.  The  tithe  has  been  given  by 
all  races  and  conditions  in  the  past  and  no  ob- 
jection on  account  of  race  or  condition  can  hold 
against  it  now. 

While  we  might  have  cut  short  much  debate  by 
saying  that  the  tithe  is  not  a  Jewish  institution 
but  is  an  ancient  law  of  the  race  and  we  are  no 
more  called  upon  to  prove  its  obligation  than  we 
are  that  of  the  law  of  the  Sabbath  or  of  marriage, 
yet  we  have  tried  to  present  the  case  as  briefly 
and  yet  thoroughly  as  possible  within  reasonable 
limits.  But,  as  I  said  at  Winona  last  year,  sup- 
pose you  deny  all  this  evidence  and  refuse  to  be 
convinced  of  its  obligation,  there  is  one  plea  that 
you  cannot  gainsay.  It  is  the  one  system  that  has 
never  failed  to  get  the  money.  The  history  of  the 
past  shows  this.  The  enemies  of  the  Evangelical 
Church  recognize  it.  The  Mormons,  the  Seventh 
Day  Adventists,  the  Dowieites  all  find  the  tithe 
sufficient  to  carry  on  their  wonderful  propagandas 
and  demonstrate  the  argument  that  God's  tenth 
if  rightly  used  by  His  Church  would  enable  us 
soon  to  take  the  world  for  Christ.  All  other 
methods  of  raising  money  pale  into  insignificance 
when  compared  with  this  which  has  always,  in 
all  ages,  and  among  all  classes  of  peoples  proved 


77 


Ube  xrttbe 


sufficient  to  do  great  things  in  the  name  of  the 
reHgion  or  irrehgion  in  behalf  of  which  it  was 
used.  The  simple  argument,  It  works,  ought  to 
appeal  to  the  many  struggling  Church  workers 
who  are  at  their  wits'  end  to  know  how  to  meet 
expenses.  That  mere  tithe-paying  will  bring 
spiritual  blessing,  I  do  not  claim.  The  reverse  is 
true,  as  the  Pharisee  testifies.  But  tithing  ac- 
cording to  God's  plan  and  in  the  spirit  which  He 
has  laid  down  in  His  word  must  and  will  bring 
great  blessing. 

One  of  our  missionaries  in  India  tells  of  a 
native  who  was  an  earnest  Christian  and  a  be- 
liever in  tithing.  He  had  a  friend  who  was  con- 
verted and  he  was  anxious  to  have  him  tithe  also. 
After  some  effort  to  persuade  him  and  seemingly 
without  avail,  he  gave  his  friend  a  sound  thrash- 
ing and  enforced  the  tithe  by  brawn  and  not  by 
persuasion  of  conscience.  This  was  zeal  without 
knowledge.  You  can  no  more  make  a  man  give 
than  you  can  make  him  pray.  You  can  make  a 
man  say  words,  but  it  is  not  prayer.  You  may 
make  him  hand  out  money  unwillingly,  but  that 
is  not  giving  as  I  view  it.  I  like  to  define  giving 
as  follows :  Giving  is  a  cheerful,  willing,  liberal, 
intelligent,  quiet,  regular  and  prayerful  exercise 
of  a  God-given  grace.  This  grace  of  giving,  like 
all  God's  gifts,  comes  with  the  asking  and  stays 

78 


Xlbe  Uitbe 


with  the  using.  It  is  no  more  possible  for  a  man 
to  have  the  grace  of  giving  without  asking  for  it 
and  making  proper  use  of  it,  than  it  is  to  have  the 
Spirit  for  service  without  asking  for  and  making 
use  of  that  gift.  I  would  not  attempt  to  force 
this  system  on  any  unprayerful  person  or  people. 
But,  Oh  that  the  Church  might  awake  to  its  glori- 
ous provision  and  its  wonderful  privilege  in  this 
conformity  to  the  law  of  giving!  When  a  man 
asks  for  the  grace  of  giving  and  receives  the  im- 
pulse to  open  his  purse  to  abound  in  this  grace, 
then  comes  to  him  God's  rule,  The  Tenth  is  holy 
unto  Me  as  a  first-fruit  of  this  grace,  and  immedi- 
ately he  begins  to  see  where  it  is  that  a  man 
crosses  over  the  boundary  line  of  selfishness  and 
steps  into  the  plane  of  devotion  to  God,  and  he 
takes  the  step  and  rejoices  in  it.  As  he  walks  on 
in  the  glad  consciousness  of  duty  done,  he  begins 
to  rejoice  in  larger  manifestations  of  this  grace 
and  meets  other  and  larger  opportunities  for  the 
gospel's  sake  and  for  the  Master's  sake,  and  thus 
the  fulness  of  the  blessing  of  this  grace  flows  into 
his  soul  and  he  knows  the  meaning  of  abounding 
in  this  grace  also. 

What  has  been  said  of  individual  experience, 
may  be  just  as  truly  said  of  the  experience  that 
comes  to  any  congregation  that  will  follow  this 
same  plan  of  God,  as  some  of  our  congregations 


79 


XTbe  TLitbc 


can  testify.  The  blessing  is  not  only  financial, 
but  it  is  spiritual  in  a  large  and  increasing  sense. 
Would  that  John  Knox  might  stir  up  the  minis- 
try now  as  he  is  said  to  have  done  in  his  day  in 
Scotland  when  he  said,  ''There  is  no  impiety 
against  which  it  is  more  requisite  you  set  your- 
selves in  this  time.  Repent,  therefore,  and  amend 
your  own  neglect  in  this  behalf  and  call  upon 
others  for  amendment."  Max  Mueller  is  said 
also  to  have  written  to  a  young  minister,  "When 
one  thinks  what  this  world  of  ours  would  be,  if 
at  least  this  minimum  of  Christianity  were  a  real- 
ity, one  feels  that  you  are  right  in  preaching  this 
simple  duty  in  season  and  out  of  season,  until 
people  see  that  without  fulfilling  it,  every  other 
profession  of  religion  is  a  mere  sham." 

The  ringing  words  of  Bishop  Potter  at  the  dedi- 
cation of  Grace  Chapel  in  New  York  city,  while 
they  may  apply  peculiarly  to  the  Episcopal 
Church,  yet  are  wholesome  words  to  all  God's 
people. 

"The  growth  of  wealth  and  of  luxury,  wicked, 
wasteful,  and  wanton,  as  before  God  I  declare 
that  luxury  to  be,  has  been  matched  step  by  step 
by  a  deepening  and  deadening  poverty  which  has 
left  whole  neighborhoods  of  people  practically 
without  hope  and  without  aspiration.  At  such  a 
time,  for  the  church  of  God  to  sit  still  and  be 

80 


XTbe  Uitbe 


content  with  theories  of  its  duty  outlawed  by  time 
and  long  ago  demonstrated  to  be  grotesquely  in- 
adequate to  the  demands  of  a  living  situation,  this 
is  to  deserve  the  scorn  of  men  and  the  curse  of 
God!  Take  my  word  for  it,  men  and  brethren, 
unless  you  and  I  and  all  those  who  have  any  gift 
or  stewardship  of  talents,  or  means,  of  whatso- 
ever sort,  are  willing  to  get  up  out  of  our  sloth  and 
ease  and  selfish  dilettanteism  of  service,  and  get 
down  among  the  people  who  are  battling  amid 
their  poverty  and  ignorance — young  girls  for 
their  chastity,  young  men  for  their  better  ideal  of 
righteousness,  old  and  young  alike  for  oie  clear 
ray  of  the  immortal  courage  and  the  immortal 
hope — then  verily  the  church  in  its  stately  splen- 
dor, its  apostolic  orders,  its  venerable  ritual,  its 
decorous  and  dignified  conventions,  is  revealed  as 
simply  a  monstrous  and  insolent  impertinence !" 
Seeing  that  this  indictment  is  well  placed,  why 
should  not  any  person  or  people  pay  to  God  at 
least  the  tenth,  as  His  minimum  requirement? 
The  need  has  not  ceased.  We  have  the  poor  with 
us.  The  ministry  is  appointed  to  live  by  the  gos- 
pel. The  field  is  not  Judea  alone,  but  the  world. 
Opportunities  of  beneficence  are  multifold.  Men 
are  waiting  and  hungering  for  the  gospel.  Men 
are  longing  to  take  it  to  them.    Means  we  must 


8i 


Zhc  Zitbc 


have.  Our  greatest  need,  as  before  stated,  from 
the  human  side  is  money,  not  men  or  machinery. 
As  Mr.  Gladstone  said,  "The  inculcation  and 
practice  of  systematic  beneficence  will  prove  the 
moral  specific  for  this  age."  Will  the  people  rob 
God?  ''Bring  ye  the  whole  tithe  into  the  store- 
house, that  there  may  be  meat  in  mine  house,  and 
prove  me  now  herev/ith,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts, 
if  I  will  not  open  you  the  windows  of  heaven  and 
pour  you  out  a  blessing,  that  there  shall  not  be 
room  enough  to  receive  it."  Why  not  make  the 
test?  Then  God  even  our  own  God  will  bless  us 
with  the  riches  of  His  grace,  to  whom  be  glory  in 
the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  throughout  all  ages, 
world  without  end.    Ameu 


8a 


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